Three local charities and organisations have been given donations of more than £7,500 by Sedgemoor Crematorium near Burnham-On-Sea, which it raised as part of its metal recycling scheme.
With the consent of families, metals recovered during cremation are recycled and any money raised at each of the 34 crematoria and cemeteries nationwide operated by Westerleigh Group is used to support local worthy causes.
Sedgemoor Crematorium has donated £2,521 each to In Charley’s Memory, Help the Child and the Weston-super-Mare Samaritans.
Heather Hughes, multi-site manager who covers Sedgemoor Crematoirum, says: “All these organisations do such incredible work trying to enhance and make a positive difference to the lives of local people when they are in most need of support and assistance.”
“It’s an honour to be able to provide them with these much-needed and well-deserved donations, particularly during these challenging times when many charities are sadly seeing a drop in donations because of the impact of the pandemic.”
In Charley’s Memory offers one-to-one counselling sessions for children and young people, provide support services to young adults with mental health issues, and raises awareness and provides education around mental health issues in the local community, schools and colleges.
Heather said: “We have donated to In Charley’s Memory, who are based close to our crematorium, for the past three years. Some of our staff here at Sedgemoor have personal connections with the charity and it is fantastic for us to be able to see the huge difference our donation makes to a small local organisation.”
“It’s especially important that we are able to support a local mental health charity at a time when a lot of people are struggling due to the ongoing pandemic and all the uncertainty in many people’s lives.”
“This is also our third year of donating money to Help the Child, which raises funds to assist children with disabilities to reach their full potential by providing specialist equipment for them.”
“It’s amazing to see the huge difference they make to the lives of local children. They do a wonderful job supporting and providing help to disabled children where statutory government funding cannot.”
“This is the first time we have made a donation to the Samaritans, who have a branch a few miles away in Weston-super-Mare.”
“They provide a round-the-clock helpline for anyone suffering from mental health issues, personal issues or who feel they have no one else to talk to. Although The Samaritans is not a small local charity, like the other two we are made donations to, the work they do for local people is no less important.”
“We were blown away when we learned about the sheer number of people that they help on a daily basis.”
“Given the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of many people, we felt it important to support a charity that works tirelessly, 24-hours-a-day, 365 days a year, ensuring there is always someone on the end of the phone to speak to someone in need.”
