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The ICCM Journal | Winter 2020 | V88 No. 4
Bath & North East Somerset Council Have donated £10,000 raised from the recycling of metals reclaimed from Haycombe Crematorium to local counselling charity The Harbour. The Harbour provides counselling support for adults facing death, dying, or bereavement. Fundraising officer, Catherine Bowen, said: “The advent of Covid-19 has changed the experience of all deaths, sadly making losing a loved one so much more painful, with the added difficulty of keeping family and friends close at the time when you need them most. “At the Harbour, we support people facing death, dying and bereavement and the generous donation we’ve received will go a long way to helping people cope better with the difficulties they face and move on with their lives.” Councillor Paul Crossley, cabinet member for Community Services, said: “I’m pleased we’ve been able to support the essential work of The Harbour. Perhaps now more than ever, when so many of us are distanced from loved ones, its really important people feel they can talk to someone about their feelings and try to make sense of what is happening. “The Harbour has continued to provide support during COVID-19 over the phone and via zoom and I know many of their clients have been extremely grateful for the support offered during these incredibly difficult times. “We always respectfully retrieve the cremated remains of a loved one, but metal items used as part of surgery are often recovered from the cremator. “The most responsible way to dispose of them is to recycle them. We feel it’s only right the money raised goes to support bereavement charities and I hope people who are bereaved take comfort from that.” Over the past year, £26,000 has been donated to charities across the region by Haycombe Cemetery and Crematorium.
Hither Green Crematorium - Widowed and Young (WAY) Dear Alison, I would like to pass on our sincere thanks to you and everyone at Hither Green Crematorium for the incredibly generous £10,000 donation made to WAY Widowed and Young. Our charity relies upon donations from our members and the generosity of supporters like yourselves to help us provide a lifeline to widows and widowers up and down the country. WAY is the only UK charity providing peer to peer support for those who’ve been widowed at a young age and the funds you have helped to raise will allow us to provide vital services for our members – including access to our secure members only website and to a 24-hour confidential telephone helpline offering bereavement support and practical advice. Any additional funding also helps us to reach out to newly bereaved widows and widowers who could benefit so much from our charity’s peer to peer support – through our media work and outreach to GP surgeries, hospitals and funeral directors. As one of our members told us: “I made contact with WAY at a time when I was desperate. I was so reassured by my first contact with someone from WAY and realised that what I was going through was normal… Time has passed and the fog is clearing and I now have a group of friends who understand what I have been through without having to explain.” Thank you for choosing to support WAY – and for helping our members to find the support they so desperately need. Kind Regards, Rebecca Cooper Chief Executive, WAY Widowed and Young