Date published: 2024-02-07 | Category: Bereavement Services, Waste and Recycling , Communities and volunteering, Wellbeing support, Bath, Improving people's lives
A charity which makes a difference to the lives of sick and disabled children has been awarded a £14,000 donation from Bath & North East Somerset Council.
The funds were raised from recycling metals reclaimed from Haycombe Crematorium.
The Gloucestershire-based Pied Piper Appeal focuses on four main areas that benefit the lives of children: funding the Children’s Centre at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital and other county hospitals, supporting local SEND schools by providing equipment and resources, sending children with life-limiting illnesses and their families on Wish Holidays and improving children’s experiences at mental health facilities in the county.
The £14,000 donation will go towards funding minibuses for disabled children at special schools in Gloucestershire, enabling the children to go out of school to enjoy the same opportunities outside of the classroom that able bodied children have.
The not-for-profit Recycling of Metals Scheme is run by the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM) of which Bath & North East Somerset Council is a member.
With the consent of relatives, members of the scheme collect common metal objects from cremators such as medical pins, metal plates and artificial joints for recycling and the money raised is divided between ICCM members for distribution among charities.
The Pied Piper Appeal is the first charity this year to be awarded a donation from the council. In 2023,12,000 was donated to the charity SUDEP Action. To qualify for donations from the scheme, charities are selected on the basis they have to assist the bereaved or those who are terminally ill.
Councillor Tim Ball, cabinet member for Neighbourhood Services, said: “Thank you to all the families who made this contribution to the Pied Piper Appeal possible. Your consent will make a difference to the lives of disadvantaged children in our region.”
Local charities meeting the criteria can get in touch with staff at Haycombe Cemetery and Crematorium on 01225 396020 or email cemeteries_crematorium@bathnes.gov.uk
ENDS
Photo: Staff, trustees and volunteers from the Pied Piper Appeal