Recycling of Metals donations 2021/22 by institutecemandcrem

Recycling of Metals Donatons 2021/22

recycling of metals

£10 million thank you’s

The ICCM is proud to announce that the Recycling of Metals scheme has reached the £10 million mark for funds donated to bereavement related charities. This follows a record-breaking round of 121 nominations in November 2020 resulting in £1,230,000 being donated to good causes around the UK.

In terms of what £1,230,000 actually looks like in paperwork, the picture right should give a good example – somewhere under that is a table!

The ICCM Recycling of Metals scheme was introduced in 2007, and has been successfully run since then in partnership with Orthometals BV. To demonstrate the difference in scale from the ﬁrst round of nominations to the latest one, here is the highly detailed table of the ﬁrst set of awards made on 31st March 2007 – when we went, wow we have paid out £15,000 and we were worried about favouring one cause over another.

There were 8 nominations in that round from the initial scheme members. Replace with Compare that to the 121 received in November and you’ll get a good idea of how much the scheme has grown.

It took 8 rounds of requests and 5 years to manage to get that many nominations to begin with. Now we have got to the point where we have had 1,784 single requests for funds from all scheme members over the years.

I think its useful at this time to mention, and de-bunk some of the possible misconceptions, on how funds are awarded.

Only members who have donated funds in the last collection round can nominate.

Nope - All scheme members may nominate in each round.

Scheme members funds are allocated by the amount they have donated each round.

Each scheme member receives an equal award from the total pot of funds – we batch rounds to ensure there is a large amount to distribute each time.

No scheme member ever, or ever will, receive a share based on their metal’s donations, as this will vary so much it is unworkable.

The ICCM Board decide which charities are suitable and if not, the crematoria cannot receive funds.

Every single suitable charity receives a share. If the nominated cause is outside the criteria, we would ask for a different one quickly to ensure a nomination.

The ICCM Board do verify the causes. A charity that has been awarded funds in the past, as long as it is still going, will receive funds again. Any new nominations will be checked by their description and if there are queries these can be resolved to ensure funds are going to the core of the scheme’s aim.

Over the last 14 years the scheme has managed to donate a total £10,176,026 to 525 different charities. We have also arranged for large reusable presentation cheques to be sent to a crematorium where they are unable to get them from their own council or for other reasons.

This has caused an amount of amusement, especially when the cheque printing company asked me why they were sending cheques off to crematoria. An example of one is handily modelled right.

31/03/20077009CRUSE - recycling money 7500 31/03/20077010BCET - recycling money 3000 31/03/20077011SANDS - recycling money 1500 31/03/20077012MacMillan Nurses - recycling money1500 31/03/20077013The Hospice Movement - recycling money1500 £15,000.00 1

Some causes say that they need £10,000 a day to keep going, for example for large hospices. By my calculation, that would mean if all the funds had gone to those causes, we would have kept one going for 1,018 days or nearly 3 years. Any hospice funded for that long would have made an impact on people’s lives as unfortunately all of us would be aware of.

For some charities £3,000 - £4,000 makes a huge difference. In those cases, we may have made 2,500 differences, but I’m trying to measure money against lives and all that has ever mattered is that causes have been rewarded and lives will have been improved.

Hospices and bereavement support have made up the majority of funds allocated from the scheme – caring for people, who are dying or supporting people after they have lost a loved one. The difference that everyone’s commitment has made is immeasurable from what was waste 15 or more years ago.

Listing all 525 causes would take several more pages than our editor would sensibly allow so below are the top 50 recipients over this ﬁrst £10 million, representing a broad scope of good causes and funding that will have improved or aided people's lives, recovery or made their last times better.

It also seems sensible at this point to mention that we are doing it all over again – not handing out £10 million again, but over £1 million should hopefully be donated in late May 2021.

If you haven’t had your form and you’re a scheme member then please check your emails or post as they went out in good old 2020 – reminders will follow as we aim to keep the funds going and keep helping those charities.

Acorns Children’s HospiceMake a wish

Age UK Marie Curie

Alzheimer's societyMayor's Appeal

Anna Drysdale FoundationMIND

Barnsley Bereavement Support

Nottingham Wildlife trust

Blue Bell Wood Children's Hospice Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice

British Heart FoundationPrincess Alice Hospice

Cancer ResearchRainbows Children Hospice

CHASRowans Hospice

CHUMSRoyal British Legion

CLIC SargentRoyal Trinity Hospice

COPE CHILDRENS TRUSTSamaritans

CRUSESands

Dementia UKShooting Star (CHASE)

Diabetes UKSLOW

Donna Louise Children’s Hospice St Barnabas Hospice (Chestnut Tree House)

Dragonﬂies - The Fellowship of St Nicholas St Christopher Hospice

East Lancashire HospiceSt Luke’s Hospice

Farleigh HospiceSt Michaels' Hospice

Greenwich & Bexley

Community Hospice St Raphael's Hospice

Hope House Children's Hospice Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide

Isabel Hospice

Touchstones Child Bereavement Support

Lindsey Lodge HospiceWay

Macmillan Cancer CareWinston’s Wish

Maggie's WPH Counselling & Education Service

It would also seem appropriate to mention a few weird/sad/ bad and wonderful things with physical cheque awards over the years and charity mishaps – the funds got there in the end, but we’ve changed to BACS payments to make it all the smoother.

A group of councillors disagreed on an award and eventually made a decision after one of them died.

A charity spokesperson decided to insult the wife and chairman of the cremation board at a public function just before the nomination forms were due.

A charity went bust before the award could be made.

A Mayor had a heart attack at a meeting and then the award was made to the hospital that treated him.

On to more amusing ones – the cheque was eaten by a dog.

The cheque made it to the crematorium, then the charity locked it in their safe and forgot about it for 6 months.

The cheque made it to the crematorium, they passed it physically to the charity and it went missing in the ofﬁce even though everyone had seen it.

And the best reason ever why a charity should be nominated –“Why does your charity qualify as bereavement support or ancillary to this when aiding the deceased or their families?”

The answer – “We stop people ending up dead and going along the road to the crematorium”.

£10 million could not have been donated without all the help of scheme members – the praise and thanks for us hitting the milestone is with scheme members, ofﬁcers who make sure they joined and support it, new initiatives such as pacemaker recycling and ﬁnally and most importantly, the bereaved whose consent means the scheme can operate.

Trevor Robson

ICCM Finance and IT Manager

Please keep sending in your nominations!

iccm recycling of metals scheme

The Recycling of metals scheme shared out funds totalling £1,230,000 in November 2020. This took the total funds donated by the scheme since its inception to over £10 million.

Coychurch Crematorium – CLIC Sargent

Sending you our heartfelt thanks for the donation of £10,000 from Coychurch Crematorium in respect of an ICCM recycling of metals scheme donation. This incredibly generous donation will hugely help in our ﬁght for young lives against cancer.

Today, 12 more children and young people will hear the devastating news that they have cancer. From diagnosis, CLIC Sargent’s specialist care teams will step in, ready to help, support and guide each young cancer patient and their family.

We know that for young lives, when the doctor says cancer, normal life stops. CLIC Sargent care teams will ﬁght tirelessly to limit the damage cancer causes; they will listen, and ask the right questions, so that they can provide the right support, tailored to each young person and family.

This might mean arranging a CLIC Sargent grant or helping young people and families get the beneﬁts they are entitled to, coordinating care so that some medical procedures can happen at home, arranging free accommodation in a CLIC Sargent Home from Home, or helping young cancer patients and families keep in touch with school, college or work to keep life as normal as possible.

Sadly, this may also mean providing bereavement support which 500 families face each year. Our care teams provide bereavement support through home visits, local support groups and memory days. We do this to help children, young people and their families ﬁnd a way to cope, and to help those left behind ﬁnd a way to go on living.

Thank you to Coychurch Crematorium Committee, the ICCM and also to you Joanna for supporting CLIC Sargent and joining with us to ﬁght for young lives against cancer.

Diolch yn fawr,

Cerys Sadler Fundraising Engagement Manager South & Mid Wales and Herefordshire

Worcester

- St. Richard’s Hospice

Worcester City Council has presented a cheque for £10,000 to St. Richard's Hospice – a local charity which cares for adults and their loved ones following diagnosis of a serious progressive illness.

The amount was paid over on behalf of the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management's metals recycling scheme, which the City Council's crematorium is part of.

Tricia Cavell, Fundraising Director at St. Richard's Hospice said: "We're so grateful for this generous donation, which could help pay for a clinical nurse specialist for close to three months. "It's been a particularly challenging year for charities like us with fundraising events cancelled and charity shops closed, but, with the support of wonderful community partners like the city council, we can continue to provide free care for patients and their families across Worcestershire when they need us."

The £10,000 cheque was presented by the Mayor of Worcester, Councillor Jo Hodges. Following the cremation of a deceased person, the cremated remains contain metals from the cofﬁn and from orthopaedic implants such as hip and knee replacement joints. The recycling of metals resulting from cremation is only carried out with the written consent of each bereaved family.

To date, Worcester City Council has contributed close to £60,000 to local charities through the scheme.

For more information about St. Richard's Hospice, go to www.strichards.org.uk

Yeovil Crematorium - Josephine's Star

The charity who supports children and families with their grief when some special dies will be getting the Christmas present of a £10,000 donation.

Chair of trustees at Josephine’s Star, Leif Tarry, said: “To receive such a wonderful donation in what has been a very challenging year is simply a dream come true.

“Thanks to the generous actions of families who have chosen to support the crematorium’s charity recycling scheme, we will now be able to support more children across the county.”

John Ranger, manager at Yeovil Crematorium, said: “We looked long and hard at many, many charities and then we found Josephine’s Star.

“They were over the moon and I think they were even more over the moon when they found out the sum of money as well!

“It’s lovely to give something back to the community, especially within these strange times as well. I think there has been so much funding been cut.”

The charity who like many has had to adapt and carefully manage its ﬁnances during the pandemic, has seen a sharp growth in demand for its services this year.

In response the charity has launched its “Guiding Star” campaign in November through which they hope to raise a further £8000 to support their work.

As part of this funding drive charity chair Leif Tarry has been persuaded to cut off his beloved beard to help toward the total. He said: “It’s a small sacriﬁce to make to ensure we can support all the children who need us.”

Some of the money will support the charities latest project called Little Bags of Help. This is a grief ﬁrst aid kit to children who have lost a loved one.

Each £25 kit contains activities and resources to support a child in with their grief.

Leif said: “We put a call out to the community to ask if anyone would be able to make a bag for the kits to go in and we were overwhelmed by the generosity of the “sewers” and the number of bags we received.

“The feedback from the children who received these bags has been wonderful so for us ensuring we have sufﬁcient funds to keep this project going is really important.”

City of Belfast Crematorium presented a cheque to Tiny Life, Northern Irelands premature baby charity. Crematorium administrator, Kathy Mageean and her daughter Matilda were delighted to present this cheque to Tiny Life as a way of saying thank you for all the help that they have received. Matilda was born 10 weeks before her due date, weighing 2lbs 12ozs. Tiny Life, Northern Ireland's premature baby charity, were able to offer practical advice, emotional support and give a helping hand during and after Matilda’s stay in the neonatal intensive care unit.”

Chair of Trustees at Josephine’s Star, Leif Tarry Front Row; Valerie Cromie (Head of Fundraising & Communications, Tiny Life), Matilda Mageean.

Back Row; Kathy Mageean (City of Belfast Crematorium) and Ken Gilmore (National Society of Allied & Independent Funeral Directors).

Clyde Coast & Garnock Valley Crematorium handed over £10,000 to Ardgowan Hospice

A local cancer charity's funds have been boosted by a ﬁve ﬁgure cash injection from a crematorium's metal recycling scheme.

Clyde Coast & Garnock Valley Crematorium handed over £10,000 to Ardgowan Hospice to help support crucial and compassionate end of life care for those with the disease, and other life-limiting illnesses.

The ﬁgure was raised through the crematorium's membership of the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management's national Recycling of Metals Scheme.

This sees them sensitively recover metals and orthopaedic implants following cremation, with the consent of bereaved families.

Phillip Ewing, manager at Clyde Coast & Garnock Valley Crematorium, said: "As professionals assisting the bereaved, we recognise the ﬁnancial challenges that organisations supporting families at a most difﬁcult and vulnerable time face, particularly during these exceptional times that we are all experiencing.

"These funds will directly beneﬁt the inspirational Ardgowan Hospice, and the families they are supporting right now.

"We support all of our local hospices and also CHAS, the Children’s Hospice for Scotland, taking each one in turn, and we have been able to donate a total of £48,000 since we opened our doors in June 2018.

"Hospices are a crucial and sensitive part of our community, and we feel so humbled to be able to make donations like the one we have made today to Ardgowan Hospice."

“Our deep and heart-felt thanks go to each and every family who consented to take part in the national recycling scheme.”

Metals are extracted following the completion of the cremation process using magnets and are then stored and recycled with the crematorium’s partners.

This is the second time the Largs-based crematorium has supported the local organisation, having handed over a £5,000 cheque in 2018.

On hand to receive the cheque was Elaine McNeill, hospice fundraising ofﬁcer, who said: "We extend our thanks to Phillip and the team for the extremely kind donation that rounds off one of the most difﬁcult years of fundraising in hospice fundraising.

"As well as the team at Clyde Coast & Garnock Valley, we want to thank all of the families who very kindly consented to take part in the national recycling scheme."

The donation comes at the end of a challenging year for the Nelson Street hospice, who rely on fundraising and donations to cover 60 per cent of their running costs.

Linda Kelly, head of corporate development at Ardgowan Hospice, added: "We are extremely thankful to Clyde Coast and Garnock Valley Crematorium for choosing to support us for the second time with this substantial donation, especially in such difﬁcult times when our ability to fundraise has been impacted so signiﬁcantly.

"We rely hugely on the generosity and support of our local community and businesses.

Bradford MBC – Bradford Hospice

Thank you so much for your very generous donation of £10,000 received with gratitude from our Bradford Hospice. We were overwhelmed to have received our second donation from yourselves during what has been a difﬁcult year for many people and cannot express how much this means to our patients and families living with a terminal illness.

We help over 690 local people and their families every year in Bradford providing the very best specialist care for people at the very end of their lives. It costs £6,144 every day to run our Bradford Hospice so your donations have helped to cover the cost of three days of care supporting all aspects of our hospice, ensuring patients, families and loved ones can access crucial care and support.

We are here for you, if any member of the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management is living with a terminal illness, or know someone who is, our information and support team, including nurses, are here to answer your questions, no matter how big or small. We are open 7 days a week. Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm, Saturdays and Sundays 11am to 5pm.

Call our Support Line 0800 090 2309* or Find information or chat to us online mariecurie.org.uk/support

Stafford Crematorium

Recycled artiﬁcial hip and knee joints at a Staffordshire crematorium have helped towards a £10,000 donation to a charity which supports people who have suffered bereavement.

Stafford Borough Council, which runs the crematorium on Stafford's Tixall Road, has donated more than £60,000 since 2013 through the scheme.

The latest charity to beneﬁt is Stafford and District Bereavement and Loss Support Service (SDBLSS) which has received £10,000. The service offers emotional support to people who are experiencing grief or loss through death or terminal illness of a loved one, close friend or neighbour.

Lesley Bailey, from SDBLSS, said: “This is an incredible amount of money for a small charity and with the current difﬁcult situation with the pandemic and the lack of fundraising opportunities we cannot thank you enough. It was such a tremendous surprise and is truly very much appreciated.”

Councillor Jonathan Price, Cabinet Member for Environment at the Borough Council said: “I’d like to think that those who have had loved ones cremated will draw some comfort from knowing their loss is helping fund this very worthwhile charity.

“I’m very proud of how much our crematorium has raised over the years for many good causes and it has been great to hear the feedback from the charities about how this money is helping them with their excellent work.”

The Tixall Road site was awarded ‘Gold’ status by the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management and has retained its ‘Green Flag’ as one of the best open spaces in the country.

More details about the service can be found at www.staffordbc.gov.uk/bereavement

Newcastle-under-Lyme. – The Dove Service

An emergency service helping people to cope with grief, trauma, isolation and loneliness during the pandemic is being extended thanks to bereaved families in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

The Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM) has donated £10,000 to the Dove Service – the only grief support charity in North Staffordshire – after the council nominated it as its chosen beneﬁciary for funds raised from the ICCM’s metal recycling scheme.

The Dove Service, based at the Dudson Centre in Hanley, provides counselling and support to people from the age of four who are experiencing issues relating to bereavement, loss and life-changing illness. It’s seeing a dramatic increase in the number of referrals and people struggling as a direct result of the pandemic. The money is being used to run two weekly online support groups as well as funding extra counselling capacity which is currently being delivered online or by telephone by trained professionals.

Charlie O’Dell, Dove Service CEO, said: “We’re honoured to have been given this generous contribution to the service that we’re delivering to support people impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and we can only thank the families who have enabled this work. We’re pleased to be able to use this money to deliver a free service that allows us to help our local community at a time when grief and loss are having such a broad and severe impact on so many lives.”

A “Dove buddies” friendship group was set up at Keele cemetery to further support bereaved residents prior to the pandemic and the charity looks forward to being able to start that again in the future.

Cllr. Trevor Johnson, Cabinet member for environment and recycling, is the portfolio holder for bereavement services. Cllr Johnson said: “We’re really pleased that the ICCM has accepted our nomination and donated a signiﬁcant amount of money to such a worthwhile local cause in these very tough times. This has been made possible by the many bereaved families who have decided to allow metals remaining following cremation to be recycled in this way. It’s a very personal decision and we are there to help residents make an informed decision.

“The charity is absolutely thrilled as it will allow them to continue meeting the additional demand for their specialised services during the pandemic. I hope that this provides residents who have lost a loved one with some level of comfort that their selﬂess actions are helping to make a big difference locally in these unprecedented times.”

Media contact: Simone Harris – 01782 742606/simone.harris@newcastle-staffs.gov.uk

Nottingham Wildlife Trust – Nottingham City Council

Dear ICCM,

I would like to acknowledge kind receipt of moneys from the ICCM Recycled Metals fund, which we received on 7 July and 19th December. This is enabling us to continue working with our partners at Nottingham City Council on enhancements at cemeteries under their management.

A large tree replacement project has recently been completed at Wilford Hill, which funded from the project. We are also looking at creating more wild ﬂower areas at this site this coming year. We are also looking forward to progressing tree planting at High Wood (this site already supports native woodland, including incredible displays of bluebells) and, possibly, a tree replacement at General Cemetery in Nottingham in the autumn, to help secure the long-term future of this site, which has an amazing collection of specimen trees and areas of grassland managed sympathetically for wildlife.

Ben Driver - SeniorConservation Ofﬁcer (South)

www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org

WHY celebrate £10,000 donation from Haycombe Crematorium

Cancer counselling charity We Hear You (WHY) is celebrating a £10,000 donation from Previous local beneficiaries include the RUH Forever Friends Appeal, Make a Wish Foundation and Cruse Bereavement Support. We Hear You provides free professional counselling to children and adults affected by cancer and life-threatening conditions in BANES, Somerset and Wiltshire and is benefitting from the scheme for the first time.

Fundraising and Communications Manager Gemma Wilkes says:

“Thank you so much to Haycombe Cemetery and Crematorium and Bath & North East Somerset Council. This donation will make a huge difference to WHY in what has been a very challenging year. At We Hear You we understand the enormous emotional impact of a terminal diagnosis or the loss of a loved one. Many thanks to the generous individuals who consented to participate in the scheme and thought of others and of course to the Council and the staff at the crematorium for thinking of WHY.”

Councillor Paul Crossley, cabinet member for Community Services at Bath & North East Somerset Council said: “I’m pleased we’ve been able to support the essential work of WHY. At a time when so many of us are distanced from our loved ones, its important people feel they can talk to someone about their feelings and try to make sense of what is happening.

“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, with permission of the family, is to recycle them. We feel it’s only right the money raised goes to support charities and I hope people who are bereaved take comfort from that.”

To access WHY’s free counselling service, call 01373 455255 or email info@wehearyou.org.uk.

CLIC Sargent - Rochdale

A cancer charity has received a £10,000 cash donation, raised from recycling metals found following cremations.

The £10,000 donation raised from cremations held at Rochdale's crematorium was paid at the end of December 2020 to charity CLIC Sargent, who support bereaved families in Rochdale and across the UK. Coun Neil Emmott, cabinet member for quality of place at Rochdale Borough Council, said: "We are delighted to have played our part in the donation of this substantial sum of money to CLIC Sargant who work tirelessly to support many of our young people and their families across the borough.

"This money can only be raised by families who give us express consent to collect metals following cremation, which we understand is a sensitive subject.

"We would like to thank all those families who enable this to happen and is vital to the ongoing success of the scheme."

The funding is earmarked to help signiﬁcantly towards the work in supporting families with young children who have sadly been affected by cancer - with many struggling more so than ever ﬁnancially through these extremely tough times.

Joe Burns, senior fundraising manager at CLIC Sargant, said: "This donation will go a long way in helping our charity further support those families who have a child or young person with a terminal cancer diagnosis.

"Our dedicated support workers are there for them to prepare for loss and facilitate ideas to create cherished memories with their child, for as long as time allows.

"Emotional support remains in place for as long as it is needed.”

“We also see the joy of those who have successfully made it through treatment and have beaten cancer and we are on hand every step of the way.”

Gwynedd Council - Music in Hospitals & Care

Music in Hospitals & Care is a charity passionate about improving the health and wellbeing of children and adults through live music. Every year, professional musicians share live music with over 100,000 people from across the UK who wouldn’t otherwise get to experience it. This includes those living with dementia, mental health problems, or who are seriously ill. The charity had to pause its usual live music sessions in hospitals and care settings at the end of March last year due to COVID-19 restrictions, but it has still been reaching patients and staff far and wide with its #MusicEveryDay live stream music sessions.

“The residents absolutely loved the session today! The musician gave some shout outs to us here and took a couple of requests, so it made the residents feel super happy and they were dancing away and singing along. Thank you for the music!” – Dolywern Leonard

Cheshire Home, Llangollen.

The sessions have been helping people like Gill, who lives at dementia specialist care home Cameron House in Inverness.

“Gill is quite young to be living with dementia. She is in her mid 70s, which is relatively early to be at an advanced stage of the illness. She loves music and while her memory is significantly impaired, she still knows all of the words to the songs. The live stream concerts are such a boost for her as she loves to sing along with the musicians and is always the first on the dance floor! She is very proud of the fact that she remembers all the words and she loves it when people comment on the fact that she is able to do this. This has such a positive effect on her sense of confidence and self-worth.” – Margaret

Morrison, Activities Coordinator.

The generous donation of £10,000 received from the ICCM’s metal recycling scheme will help Music in Hospitals & Care to continue its live stream programme into 2021 and to plan for a safe return to healthcare settings when restrictions ease.

“The past year has been so difﬁcult for hospitals, care homes, hospices and community settings. This donation means we can continue to reach people who may be particularly isolated at this time with the healing power of live music. We are very grateful to the ICCM, crematorium staff and the bereaved for making this possible.”

Barbara Osborne, Chief Executive.

Gwynedd Council - Music in Hospitals & Care Sandwell Council has nominated a local children’s charity to receive this year’s donation from the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM).

Councillor Wasim Ali, cabinet member responsible for bereavement services, said: “We are very proud to be part of the ICCM’s charity scheme. Acorns Children’s Hospice, like all charities, has been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. “The donation will go a long way to help Acorns support the children and families of Sandwell and the wider Black Country during what continue to be very difﬁcult times. I would ask all Sandwell residents and businesses to continue to support local charities, including Acorns Children’s Hospice."

Deputy Leader, Councillor Maria Crompton, added: "It's great that we can help a worthy cause and continue to support children across the Black Country who are coping with a bereavement." Claire Snape, Area Fundraiser for Acorns, said: “We’re thrilled to have been nominated to receive this incredible donation. The children and families who use Acorns need us as much as ever during this time of uncertainty as we continue to provide our vital children’s hospice care and lifeline support. “This very generous donation will help us be there for families who rely on our support, including those who are bereaved. On behalf of everyone at Acorns, we could not be more grateful – thank you.”

Acorns Children’s Hospice provides specialist palliative care for children and young people with life limiting and life threatening conditions across Sandwell and the wider West Midlands, as well as support for their families. Over the past year Acorns has supported around 200 children and their families from its Black Country hospice, including those who are bereaved.

Acorns has been at the forefront in the battle against coronavirus, supporting some of the most vulnerable families in the community as well as the emergency response of the NHS and social care system. It costs £27,000 every day to run Acorns services providing care for children and support for their families.

The charity relies heavily on donations to fund the majority of its activities.

Ashgate Hospicecare welcomes £10,000 donation from crematorium

Chesterﬁeld and District Joint Crematorium Committee has donated £10,000 to Ashgate Hospicecare.

The charity, which provides specialist end of life care to patients with complex palliative care needs across North Derbyshire, will use the donation to help support its bereavement services, which have seen a surge in demand since the pandemic again.

In addition to helping to fund their existing bereavement services such as one-to-one counselling, group support and art therapy, the donation will also fund the creation of bereavement information packs.

The pack, which will be used by Ashgate Hospicecare’s community nursing team, includes information on how to register a death, who you must inform legally and where to ﬁnd emotional and spiritual advice.

Arlene Honeyman, Head of Supportive Care at Ashgate Hospicecare, said: “We are incredibly grateful for this generous donation which comes at a time when demand for our services has never been greater.

“Our Supportive Care Team have been working tirelessly to give emotional, therapeutic and spiritual support to anyone in our community struggling with the loss of someone they love. This is given by our 16 staff who include specialist bereavement counsellors, chaplains and an art therapist who are supported by our 20 trained volunteer counsellors.

“Sadly, the number of people within our community who are experiencing a bereavement is continuing to increase due to COVID-19. We are hearing from people every day who are unable to be by their loved one’s bedside in hospital and are unable to say a proper goodbye.

“It really is a desperate situation for so many at this time, which is why our bereavement services and this donation is more important than ever.”

Ashgate Hospicecare does not receive any statutory funding for its bereavement support, instead the service is entirely funded by voluntary donations.

Right now, Ashgate is reporting a funding shortfall of £2.4 million, as a result of COVID-19 forcing the charity to close its shops for a third time and scale back or cancel fundraising events.

Councillor Mary Dooley, Chair of Chesterﬁeld and District Joint Crematorium Committee, said:

“I believe that those who have lost loved ones will draw some comfort, knowing that their loss is in some way contributing to the tremendous efforts at Ashgate Hospicecare.

“Our crematorium, working alongside the Institute of Cemetery and Cremation Management, has raised a tremendous amount over the years for many good causes and it has been great to hear the feedback from the charities about how this money is helping them with their excellent work.”

Ashgate Hospicecare was nominated by the Joint Crematorium Committee to be the recipient of the proceeds from the Recycling of Metals Scheme in 2021. The scheme is in partnership with the Institute of Cemeteries and Crematorium Management.

To ﬁnd out more about Ashgate Hospicecare or to support its Winter Crisis Appeal, go to: www. ashgatehospicecare.org.uk

Southampton Crematorium donates £10,000 to Paediatric Intensive Care Unit charity Southampton Crematorium, which is run by Southampton City Council, donated £10,000 to Friends of PICU. Southampton Crematorium has raised this money from their Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM) recycling of metals scheme. This brings the total that Southampton Crematorium has donated to charities to £58,000 since its introduction.

The presentation of the cheque took place on Thursday 1st April 2021 at Southampton Crematorium. Friends of PICU was nominated by members of the crematorium’s Bereavement Team, following the death in 2020 of 11-year-old Harlee Steele, grandson of Service Manager Heather White. Harlee’s family had chosen Friends of PICU in his memory.

Founded in November 2006 by parents and nursing staff of the PICU, Friends of PICU has grown due to the generous donations from all their supporters, and the recognised great care given by the PICU team.

Kerry Houghton, Operations Manager, Friends of PICU wrote a letter of thanks to Bereavement Services, stating: “I am writing on behalf of everyone at Friends of PICU and the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, to thank you so much for your kind donation of £10,000 from the ICCM Recycling of Metals Scheme following a nomination by members of the Bereavement Services Team at Southampton Cemeteries and Crematorium to receive this donation in memory of Harlee David Steele. This money is an absolutely incredible donation to receive and really will make such a difference.”

“With your donation we will continue to assist the PICU and the NHS in providing the best of care for critically ill children, their parents and families, who will require the specialist services of the PICU. Friends of PICU are very proud to have funded the expansion of PICU to 16 beds, from the previous 14, 4 dedicated PICU ambulances and various items of equipment, staff training, and craft materials to desensitise the medical environment, over the past 15 years. We are now working towards our next major project, which is the renovation of the on-site parent accommodation alongside further key medical equipment”.

“It is through such kindness given by yourselves and other supporters that we make a real difference. I send from myself, our Trustees, Patrons and all who support Friends of PICU our thanks.”

Dr Iain Macintosh, Clinical PICU Consultant and Chairman of Friends of PICU added: “The Unit really appreciates the incredible support received from the charity as it makes an enormous difference across the whole of the unit and the excellent level of care which can be provided to the children and their families. Friends of PICU contribute to every part of the specialist care with no patient passing through PICU without being assisted by nursing training and education, the variety of equipment donated, and the caring and considerate environment they have helped to create – Thank You.”

Harlee’s mum Fern Steele on behalf of herself and her husband Ryan said: “In June 2020 our world was suddenly turned upside down, when we had to say goodbye to our smiley, caring, beautiful son Harlee who was just 11 years old. It was such a devastating time and me and my family would like to thank the staff in PICU for how supportive and caring they were to us all. Even though the staff knew that there was nothing more they could do to help Harlee, each one of them came into the room and spoke to Harlee, telling him who they were, what they were doing with the machines and when moving him they showed such compassion. The lovely idea of providing hand printing and making sure they got all the colours that Harlee’s brother and sister wanted was so thoughtful. We really can’t thank you all enough for the way you looked after Harlee.”

Mary D’Arcy, Executive Director for Communities, Culture and Home at Southampton City Council said: “We’re absolutely delighted that our crematorium is able to offer this donation to the Friends of PICU. We hope this money goes some way to help fund the vital work the charity is doing in supporting children and their families on the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit Southampton Children’s Hospital at the University Hospital Southampton.”

Kettering Crematorium donates £10,000 to the Twinkling Stars Appeal Kettering’s Warren Hill Crematorium has donated £10,000 to the Twinkling Stars Appeal at Kettering General Hospital, from money received for participating in the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM) metals recycling scheme.

This takes our total donations from the scheme to more than £119,000 donated to local bereavement related charities since 2011.

Other charities to have previously received donations include: Cransley Hospice, Cynthia Spencer Hospice, Kettering Mind, KGH Charitable Fund and MacMillan Cancer Support, among others.

Jayne Chambers, Kettering General Hospital’s Head of Strategic Corporate and Community Fundraising, said: “We are extremely grateful for Kettering Crematorium’s donation of £10,000 towards our Twinkling Stars Appeal.

“While fundraising for the Appeal has been signiﬁcantly disrupted by the Covid pandemic our appeal to dramatically improve the bereavement facilities at KGH for local families who lose their baby is still very much open.

“We are looking forward to a time when we can re-launch active fundraising for the appeal as Covid restrictions are lifted and organising fundraising events becomes easier.”

The Twinkling Stars Appeal aims to raise £1million to dramatically improve the bereavement facilities for local families who have suffered the trauma of losing their baby.

Shirley Plenderleith, Head of Public Services at Kettering Borough Council, said: “We are extremely proud of the impressive amount of money that we have been able to donate to local bereavement charities. Kettering’s Warren Hill Crematorium continues to provide a high-quality service in a family’s time of need.”

Cllr Ian Jelley, Kettering Borough Council’s Portfolio Holder for Environment, said: “We’re delighted that local charities are able to beneﬁt from the metals recycled by Warren Hill Crematorium, and it is a tremendous achievement that over £119,000 has been donated to local bereavement related charities over the last 10 years.”

From left to right are: Dr Iain Macintosh, Clinical PICU Consultant and Chairman of Friends of PICU, Kerry Houghton, Operations Manager, Friends of PICU, Claire Hodges, Team Leader, Bereavement Services, Heather White, Service Manager at Southampton Crematorium/ICCM President (Harlee’s grandmother), and Harlee’s parents Ryan and Fern Steele and his siblings, Louie and Elsie-Mae Steele.

Lea Fields Crematorium donates £10,000 to Lincolnshire hospice! St Barnabas Hospice has received a £10,000 charitable donation from Lea Fields Crematorium in West Lindsey.

The money will be used by the charity to support Lincolnshire residents with Life limiting and terminal illness.

Lea Fields, which is run by West Lindsey District Council, opened the much needed facility in January last year. The authority signed up to the ICCM (Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management) Metal Recycling Scheme, which means that with the consent from families, metals recovered during cremation are recycled and any money raised is used to give back to bereavement related charities.

Chairman of the Council, Cllr Steve England selected St Barnabas to receive the donation as part of the scheme.

He said: “St Barnabas Hospice does such incredible work in Lincolnshire supporting people with life limiting and terminal illness. They do a fantastic job by making such a positive difference to the lives of poorly people in such tough circumstances.

“It is an honour to be able to provide them with some extra ﬁnancial help especially in the current conditions when fund raising for many organisations due to COVID-19 has made things challenging.

“We must not forget special thanks to the bereaved who gave their consent to be part of the scheme for without them we would not have been able to give back to the local community in this way.”

Deborah Balsdon, Crematorium Manager at Lea Fields Crematorium said joining the national scheme was a great way to support local good causes.

She said: “At Lea Fields we always ensure families give their full approval to be part of the process and while making funeral arrangements they are given the choice about whether they wish to authorise the sensitive recycling of any metals remaining after the cremation.”

Caroline Swindin, Fundraising Development Manager at St Barnabas, said “We are over the moon to receive a £10,000 donation from Lea Fields Crematorium and think that the ICCM Metal Recycling Scheme is a fantastic way to raise money for charity. This past year has thrown up many challenges for St Barnabas Hospice, so the money from Lea Fields will go a long way towards helping us provide holistic care to an increased number of patients, looking after their physical, social, spiritual and psychological needs.

“To put this fantastic amount of money into perspective, £10,000 could fund 585 virtual bereavement support sessions for people grieving the loss of a loved one, or it could fund 711 Hospice at Home visits to people being cared for at home by our community teams. It could even cover the cost of 293 hours of specialist inpatient care for patients we look after round-theclock in our Inpatient Unit.

“Thank you so much to everyone involved in raising this incredible amount of money – it really does mean so much to us.” Senior Director of Cliff Bradley and Sons Funeral Directors, Carlton Bradley, added: “I hope that this incredible donation –which wouldn’t be possible without the support of so many selﬂess, generous, wonderful people – will make a huge difference to those who are living with terminal illnesses in Lincolnshire during this most difﬁcult of times.

“For anyone who has lost a loved one, to have the incredible ability to still think of helping others shows a selﬂess quality that is simply the best in humanity. I truly wish the best to everybody who has made this possible, and to everybody who this incredible act of humanity will touch.”

To ﬁnd out more about Lea Fields Crematorium please visit: https://www.leaﬁeldscrematorium.co.uk/

To ﬁnd out more about St Barnabas please visit: https://stbarnabashospice.co.uk/

Picture -Deborah Balsdon and Carlton Bradley

iccm recycling of metals scheme

May 2021 Recycling round up

The ﬁrst round of nominations for the ICCM/Orthometals recycling of metals scheme closed in May 2021 and a staggering £1,260,000 was donated to good causes via the scheme – the single highest total yet and reﬂecting on again another very successful round for all parties. A total nicely shown below on one of the presentation cheques ICCM will send you if required.

Awards made and acknowledged are shown elsewhere in the Journal, but the headline stats as it were, are that so far, the scheme’s donated over £11.4 million to 551 different charities with a total of 1,915 pay outs. Thank goodness they are now by BACS as I really don’t want to have to write another 1,000 cheques - I need an ink stamp!

Due to a decision by Memoria to allow all their crematoria to nominate to the same cause, and with other crematoria’s nominations, Macmillan cancer Care received a much needed and vital £160,000 alone for the round. They were not alone in success and being recognised by many crematoria.

Cruse, a long-time partner of the industry was awarded £70,000 and both the Samaritans and Alzheimer’s Society each revived £40,000 reﬂecting on causes being in need during the pandemic.

While established previous nominees have been successful it is always important that new and often local charities also make their voices heard in the need for funding.

The new charities shoutout’s as it were on the radio for this round – At a loss.org, Beachy Head Chaplaincy Team, Broughton House, Calvert Trust Exmoor, Carers in Bedfordshire, Children's Air Ambulance, Crossroads Ayrshire - Caring for Carers, Daddy's with Angels, DCH Charity, Doncaster Cancer Detection Trust, East Sussex Healthcare Trust's Charitable Funds, Full Circle Fund Therapies, Havering Street

Pastors, Ipswich Dementia Action Alliance (IDAA), Men Unite, Muslim Bereavement Support Service, OG Cancer NI, Our Sam, Over the rainbow children's charity, Priscilla Bacon Norfolk Hospice Care, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Kings Lynn Charitable Fund, South West MS Therapy Centre, Stars Appeal, The BAY Foodbank, Warrington and Halton Hospital Charity, Warwick Myton Hospice, Wellspring Therapy and Training, Wessex Cancer Trust and Willow Wood Hospice – PHEW!

The new causes above add to the fact that over 55% of awards have gone to single cases/charities which shows the length and breadth of awards from Cornwall to the Scottish Highlands.

Every member should feel proud of themselves for their work in helping charities, the bereaved allow the funds to be generated, but by being part of it you are all ensuring the best for good causes.

Like the snake eating itself, it’s all happening again at this minute closing in December 2021, so please if you have a form send it back in, if you’ve got the email link click it and if you have neither of these or a query if the cause can be nominated, then just get in touch – trevor.robson@Iccm-uk.com

And ﬁnally – WELL DONE, LOTS OF SMALL ACTIONS MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE

Recycling of Metals

Press releases and information from charities that were nominated in the December – May 2021 round.

Conwy Nomination – Alzheimer’s Society

Thank you so much to the ICCM for the amazing donation of £10,000 to Alzheimer’s Society. Covid-19 has had a devastating effect on those living with dementia and your kind donation will help Alzheimer's Society continue to offer valuable and much needed support through our services such as ‘Companion Calls’.

This service provides regular phone calls to people living with dementia and their carers for a friendly chat in order to reduce loneliness and improve their sense of wellbeing. For some, their companion caller is the only person they speak to that week, and that is why your donation is so important and appreciated.

Thank you.

Mind Mid Kent

Card message from Julie Blackmore the CEO of Mind Mid Kent, thanking the ICCM and Maidstone Borough Council for their donaation of £10,000.

Barrow in Furness -Young Lives vs Cancer

Dear ICCM and Thorncliffe Crematorium,

Thank you so much for your incredible donation of £10,000 through the OrthoMetals recycling scheme, and for joining our ﬁght for young lives against cancer. Today, 12 more children and young people will hear the devastating news that they have cancer. From diagnosis, Young Lives vs Cancer’s specialist care teams will step in, ready to help, support and guide each young cancer patient and their family.

We know that for young lives, when the doctor says ‘cancer’, normal life stops. Young Lives vs Cancer care teams will ﬁght tirelessly to limit the damage cancer causes; they will listen, and ask the right questions, so they can provide the right support, tailored to each young person and family.

This might mean arranging a Young Lives vs Cancer grant or helping young people and families get the beneﬁts they are entitled to, coordinating care so some medical procedures can happen at home, arranging free accommodation in a Young Lives vs Cancer home from home, or helping young cancer patients and families keep in touch with school or work to help keep life as normal as possible.

If the worst happens, and a child dies, we are there for the family every step of the way through their bereavement. Your £10,000 donation could cover the cost of bereavement support for 13 families when they lose their child, providing over 300 hours of palliative or bereavement support from our social workers.

Thank you again to the ICCM and Thorncliffe Crematorium for choosing to support Young Lives vs Cancer with such a generous donation, and for joining us in the ﬁght for young lives against cancer.

Best wishes, Sophie Meadows - Fundraising Engagement Manager

Coychurch Crematorium - CRUSE

Thank you for your letter on the 2nd of July regarding the ICCM recycling of metals scheme. I’m pleased to conﬁrm that we have received your amazing donation of £10,000 for Cruse Cymru. Thank you so much for once again choosing Cruse Bereavement Care as your charity. We would not be able to continue to support bereaved people locally without donations like these so please accept my grateful thanks.

Cruse Bereavement Care is a charity and whilst there’s no charge for our bereavement support - and our volunteers give their time for free – we do need to raise money to cover costs like recruitment, training and telephone costs. It costs an average of £120 per person to provide bereavement support which works out around £20 per session.

I have included a certiﬁcate with this letter to say thank you and if you would like to have any of our ‘Understanding Bereavement’ leaﬂets then please let me know and I can post some out to you.

Thank you once again for your support and I look forward to working with you in the future.

North East Lincolnshire – Parkinsons UK

Research to ﬁnd a cure for Parkinson’s has received a £10,000 boost thanks to a local metal recycling scheme.

Grimsby crematorium, which is managed by North East Lincolnshire Council, made the donation.

Parkinson’s UK is the largest charitable funder of Parkinson’s research in Europe, leading the way to better treatments and a cure. An estimated 145,000 people across the UK are living with Parkinson’s, including 11,426 people in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Money raised for the donation came from the sale of recyclable materials which are salvaged following cremation. These usually comprise of metal from the cofﬁn and orthopaedic implants like hip and knee replacement joints.

Relatives of the deceased give their consent before the cremation and collection of metals goes ahead.

Jacquie McGuire, Regional Fundraiser for Yorkshire and Humber at Parkinson’s UK, said:

“We want to say a huge thank you to Councillor Stewart Swinburn, Grimsby crematorium for choosing Parkinson’s UK as the beneﬁciary of these funds.

“Our work in Yorkshire and Humber and across the UK is entirely dependent on donations. Every penny raised helps drive forward ground-breaking research projects supported by the charity, as well as the vital support and information services that people affected by the condition need.”

Councillor Stewart Swinburn, portfolio holder for environment and transport at North East Lincolnshire Council, said: “I’m really pleased to be able to sign off this donation to another incredibly worthwhile cause.

“Parkinson’s has a profound impact on the lives of so many people. It’s the fastest growing neurological condition in the world, but Parkinson’s UK is making huge strides in research to ﬁnd a cure and doing some great work to support families and those affected by the condition.”

Proceeds from the sale of recyclable metals have been awarded to charity every year since 2014, with a cheque handover taking place twice a year. Since 2014, more than £75,000 has gone towards supporting local and national worthy causes.

Havering BC – Havering Street Pastors

A specialist metals recycling scheme has enabled staff at South Essex Crematorium to recently present a cheque for £10,000 to Havering Rail Pastors.

They patrol Romford Station in a bid to reach out to people in moments of crisis.

The Mayor of Havering, Cllr. John Mylod presented the cheque to Gary Seithel, Chairman of the Trustees of Havering Street Pastors, an award winning charity whose volunteers have been patrolling Romford and Hornchurch town centres for many years.

Rail Pastors is an initiative of the Ascension Trust, working in partnership with the British Transport Police, train operators, Network Rail and the Samaritans.

Havering is one of nine areas in the UK to benefit from the initiative since the first rail pastor group was set up in Barnet –saving three lives in its first year.

Kings Lynn and West Norfolk – Cancer Care and Treatment Charitable Fund at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital

A cheque for £10,000 towards the Cancer Care and Treatment Charitable Fund at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital was presented on Thursday 1 July 2021 at Mintlyn crematorium.

Pictured Right: Cllr Harry Humphrey, the Mayor of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk, and Cllrs Brian Long and Paul Kunes, borough council Cabinet members, presented Professor Steve Barnett, Chairman, and Laurence Morlaas, Fundraising Executive, of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital with the cheque.

Cllr Paul Kunes, Cabinet member for Environment, said: “Over the last ten years Mintlyn crematorium has raised thousands of pounds for many worthy local causes through this scheme. I’m delighted to be presenting this cheque to the Cancer Care and Treatment Charitable Fund at the QEH. It has helped thousands of people affected by cancer.”

Cllr Brian Long, Cabinet member for Corporate Services, added: “The work this unit continues to do has supported many local people as they ﬁght cancer. I hope this donation helps the Macmillan Cancer Care and Treatment Centre at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital to continue the vital support they give to our community.”

Professor Steve Barnett, QEH Charmain, said: “We’re extremely grateful to the borough council of King's Lynn & West Norfolk, the ICCM and to our local community for this donation to our Cancer Care and Treatment Charitable Fund. The funds will help us deliver the highest standard of care and support for our patients living with cancer, and their families.”

Mintlyn crematorium is owned and operated by the borough council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk.

Previously, the crematorium used money raised through the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM) scheme to support the Big C Cancer Charity, the Central Delivery Bereavement Fund at QEH, The Norfolk Hospice, Tapping House, EACH, Scotty’s Little Soldiers, SANDS (Stillborn and Neonatal Death Society), Friends in Bereavement, Nelson’s Journey, The Norfolk Hospice, Tapping House, SOBS (Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide), and MNDA (Motor Neurone Disease Association), Theresa's Tiny Treasures, Alzheimer's Society.

Newcastle under Lyme – Men Unite

A growing men’s mental health support group based in North Staffordshire has received a major financial boost thanks to bereaved families from Newcastle- under-Lyme.

The Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM) has donated £10,000 to Men Unite – which provides a range of services encouraging men to talk about their problems and overcome them – after the council nominated it as its chosen beneficiary for funds raised from the ICCM’s metal recycling scheme.

Men Unite, set up in April 2019 by electrician Craig Spillane from Talke Pits, started off as a private Facebook group for a small number of close friends as a safe forum to discuss personal issues, but it expanded rapidly and now has 14,000 members, from 80 countries, who have access to support 24 hours a day, seven days a week from trained volunteers.

The community interest company, which is becoming a charity, has since launched a daily hub at Hanley Town FC –where men have access to professional counselling services – a Sunday league football team as well as a well-being league in partnership with Stoke City FC and Staffordshire FA, a food bank and a mental health workshop programme.

The £10,000 donation will be used to fund future counselling services, including specific sessions focusing on bereavement, and enhance the new Daniel Platt memorial lounge at the drop-in hub. The lounge is a place where visitors can sit and reflect and is named in honour of a Men Unite member who sadly took his own life.

Pictured ( left to right ) is David Banks, from the council’s bereavement services, who suggested the nomination to the ICCM and Men Unite founder Craig Spillane.

Craig, 42, said: “I didn’t know that metals could be recycled in this way, it’s an amazing thing. We’re a small charitable organisation so any donations we receive make a huge difference and go straight into helping people. We’re just so grateful.

“Men Unite encourages men to speak out about their problems instead of bottling it up and eventually taking their own life. Male suicide is the biggest killer of men under the age of 45, one person loses their life in this way every two hours. They’re frightening statistics. I’ve experienced troubles – and I’ve got a broad spectrum of friends from different walks of life who have as well for various reasons – so that understanding underpins everything we do. This fantastic donation will help us to continue providing immediate counselling sessions for those who are struggling. This extremely quick service is very important as it can mean the difference between life and death. We’re so honoured to be nominated for the donation. I’m really proud that we are able to make such a difference to so many people’s lives.”

The ICCM donated £10,000 to the Dove Service, a local grief support charity, in January.

Cllr Trevor Johnson, Cabinet member for environment and recycling, is the portfolio holder for bereavement services. Cllr. Johnson said: “We’re very pleased that the ICCM has accepted our second nomination and donated another £10,000 to such a great local cause. This is only possible because of the selfless actions of bereaved families who have decided to allow metals remaining following cremation to be recycled in this way.

Men Unite are doing excellent work in the local area to address male mental health, something which has been affected by the pandemic, so this money will have a massive impact. I hope this provides residents who have lost a loved one with some level of comfort.”

Stafford Crematorium - A Child Of Mine

Recycled artificial hip and knee joints have helped raise £10,000 for a Stafford charity which supports families who have suffered the bereavement of a child. Stafford crematorium has passed artificial joints, along with nails and screws from the coffins, on to a recycling company in return for money which is then donated to charity.

Once consent from the families has been given, the metal is ﬁltered out as part of the cremation process leaving the ashes to be buried or collected by the deceased’s loved ones. Stafford borough council, which runs the crematorium on the town’s Tixall Road, has donated more than £80,000 since 2013 through the scheme.

The latest recipient is Stafford-based ‘A Child Of Mine’ (ACOM) which has received £10,000. The charity offers emotional support, information, and guidance to families suffering the loss of a baby or child.

Gayle Routledge, founder of the charity, said: “We were blown away when we heard we would be receiving an incredible £10,000. It is hard to put into words how much of a difference this will make to bereaved families.

“This amount of money could cover the costs of over 700 hours of one-to-one support for bereaved parents or even run our Sunshine and Rainbows sibling support playgroup for over two whole years.

“Most importantly, it has given us a lifeline to be able to support families when they are ready to be supported and, more importantly, how they want to be supported.

“Every family is different. We make sure we are ﬂexible with our support and what we can offer to ensure it is right for every individual family and donations from the local community are vital in enabling us to do this.

“It is an understatement to say that this will help to change the lives of so many bereaved families but, it truly will. “We have known the team at Stafford crematorium for many years and they are so supportive of everything we do here at ACOM and they continue to surprise us with their support.”

Councillor Jonathan Price, Cabinet Member for Environment at the Borough Council, said it was so good to hear that the money would make a signiﬁcant difference to the charity.

“This is such a worthwhile charity that gives comfort and support to bereaved parents and other family members at an extremely sad time for them. And I hope that those who have had loved ones cremated will draw some comfort from knowing their loss is helping others.

The Tixall Road site in Stafford, Staffordshire was awarded ‘Gold’ status by the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management and has retained its ‘Green Flag’ as one of the best open spaces in the country.

Pictured above Councillor Jonathan Price hands over the cheque to Gayle Routledge, founder of A Child Of Mine charity, at the Tixall Road crematorium

Colwyn Bay – St David’s Hospice

Pictured right: (Victoria Currie, Crematorium & Cemetery Manager and Andy Barlow, Senior Crematorium Technician)

The Colwyn Bay crematorium, which is situated in the grounds of Bron y Nant cemetery, Mochdre recently presented a cheque for £10,000 to St David’s Hospice, from money received for participating in the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM) metals recycling scheme.

Nationally, the ICCM Recycling of metals scheme has raised over £11 million for charities across the UK since it was created.

Staff at the local crematorium chose St David’s Hospice to be the recipient charity for the donation this year as they wanted to see that the money remained local, to support local people.

Colwyn Bay’s senior crematorium technician Andy Barlow said: “St David’s Hospice nurses being on the front line helps to ease the pressure on our NHS. The care the team give is invaluable to us all.

“I would just like to say a big thank you to St David’s Hospice for all the hard work they do and also to all the families that have made this type of donation possible.”

St David’s Hospice is a local charity providing hospice care to adult patients living with life limiting illnesses in Conwy, Gwynedd and Anglesey. Each year the hospice needs to raise £5 million to continue with care and services. The donation will go directly towards patient care which is offered free of charge to the local community.

James Wilde, Conwy Area Fundraiser said: “Thank you so much to everyone involved in raising this incredible amount of money – it really does mean so much to us. This donation will make a huge difference to those who are living with life limiting illnesses in North West Wales during this most difﬁcult of times.”

Swansea Crematorium – Marie Cure

I would like to express our profound gratitude for the recent donation of £10,000 to Marie Curie, as part of the ICCM Recycling Metals Scheme. After approaching Lyndon Elsey at Swansea crematorium some time ago and providing some insight into the work of Marie Curie, including our new bereavement service, we were overjoyed to be nominated.

The funds will help Marie Curie provide support for individuals and families across South West Wales, providing care and support through death, dying and bereavement.

This money will help make this possible as it costs:

•£180 to provide a full 9-hour Marie Curie nursing shift

•£20 for one hour of nursing care

•£5 for bereavement booklets to support 20 children

•£1 for a patient information pack, giving practical advice about our services

As you can imagine, £10,000 will ensure that many more people will beneﬁt from the work of Marie Curie, making death and dying a better experience. Your support helps us continue and develop our work - thank you again, we simply couldn’t do it without you.

As I mentioned to Lyndon, my mum was cremated at this crematorium after a short battle with cancer, in 2015. At the time, and before working for Marie Curie, we agreed to the recycling of her metal plates but had no comprehension of the difference it would make. Now, having been involved in the scheme, it is humbling to know the impact it has, allowing us to continue offering our end-of-life services.

Ali Discombe, Community Fundraiser, West Wales Alison.Discombe@mariecurie.org.uk

Clyde Coast & Garnock Valley Crematorium Raises Vital Funds for St Vincent’s Hospice

Clyde Coast & Garnock Valley Crematorium has today 8th July 2021 made a £10,000 donation towards St Vincent Hospice in Howwood to help support the crucial end of life care that they provide for families from across the local area.

The funds were raised through the crematorium’s membership of the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management’s national Recycling of Metals Scheme, and the money was ofﬁcially presented to Carol-Anne Lamont of St Vincent Hospice at the new state of the art crematorium located within the panoramic hills above Dalry.

The Institute’s Recycling of Metals Scheme is a national initiative and works by sensitively recovering metals and orthopedic implants following cremation with the consent of bereaved families.

Philip Ewing, Manager of the Clyde Coast & Garnock Valley Crematorium, said:

“As professionals assisting the bereaved, we recognise the ﬁnancial challenges that organisations supporting families at their most difﬁcult and vulnerable time face.”

“Covid has had a devastating impact across society, affecting not just families but also Hospices who have faced more pressure to provide end of life care, whilst simultaneously seeing the ability to raise vital funds in the traditional method curtailed as lockdown was introduced.”

“The funds raised through this recycling scheme donation will directly beneﬁt the hospice and the families it supports, when they are facing a difﬁcult time through bereavement.”

“Our heart-felt thanks go to each and every family who consented to take part in the national scheme, without whom life-changing donations such as the one we are making today would not be possible.”

Carol-Anne Lamont, Income Generation Lead at St Vincent Hospice, said:

“The continued support from Clyde Coast & Garnock Valley Crematorium is greatly appreciated and helps us continue to deliver vital support to patients and their families across our community.”

“Throughout this unprecedented and challenging time for all, St. Vincent’s Hospice has remained open. The pandemic forced us to alter our ways of working and as well as supporting those with life-limiting conditions in whatever way we can within the hospice itself. Our team have been visiting patients in their own homes, providing telephone consultations or counselling sessions as well as virtual face-to-face support. We have been ﬁnding new ways to make sure we are still her for everyone who needs us.”

Philip Ewing added:

“Since its inception in 2006, the Institute’s national recycling of metals initiative has now raised over £11.4 million, and it gives great comfort for those who have contributed to the scheme to know that the money raised, is used to support charities like St Vincent’s Hospice in the delivery of incredibly important and sensitive end of life care.”

“Like St Vincent Hospice, we are absolutely committed to providing the very highest levels of care and compassion for families when they need support most, and we are incredibly proud to be in a position to make this donation.”

Photograph attached left to right Philip Ewing, Jennifer Hamilton, Carol-Anne Lamont, Sharon Breen, Murray Hamilton.

iccm recycling of metals scheme

Recycling of Metals - press releases and information from charities that were nominated in the December – May 2021 round

West Lindsey District Council – Lincolnshire Hospice

St Andrew’s Children’s Hospice has received a £10,000 charitable donation from Lea Fields Crematorium to provide much needed care and support.

The charity, which supports families from West Lindsey is the second organisation to receive a cheque from the crematorium. As previously reported, West Lindsey District Council opened the crematorium in January 2020 and signed up to a national metal recycling scheme to help give something back to the community.

The money donated will help the hospice to provide care and support for more than 500 patients, both adults and children, and their families, friends and over 200 carers.

Christina Cook, Communications and Marketing Manager at St Andrew’s Hospice thanked said the crematorium for the generous donation. She said: “We’d like to thank Lea Fields crematorium so much for their incredible support. It will make a huge difference to our patients, bringing them more opportunities to receive the specialist care they need whilst having fun and making important memories too.”

Andy’s, the children’s and young person’s service, delivers care to those aged from birth to 25 years old who live in Northern Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire.

St Andrew’s also delivers care to people aged 18 and above with a life-limiting illness who live in Grimsby, Cleethorpes, Immingham and surrounding areas.

Chairman of West Lindsey District Council, Cllr Steve England selected St Andrew’s to receive the donation as part of the scheme.

He said: “St Andrew’s Hospice does such incredible work in Lincolnshire providing free care for people of all ages living with a progressive life-limiting conditions, like cancer, Motor Neurone Disease, cardio-vascular diseases, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease.

“They have a difﬁcult job offering care to children who are very poorly while comforting parents and carers.

“We must not forget special thanks to the bereaved who gave their consent to be part of the scheme for without them we would not have been able to give back to the local community in this way.”

Cllr Anne Welburn, Deputy Leader of the Council praised the scheme. She said: “This is the second cheque, we as an authority have been able to award to much-needed charities that support families from West Lindsey. The ﬁrst was awarded to St Barnabas Hospice for £10,000 and now this cheque of £10,000 to Andrews Hospice.

“This has all been made possible thanks to the consent from families who have allowed the metals recovered during cremation to be recycled and any money raised is used to give back to bereavement related charities.”

Deborah Balsdon, Crematorium Manager at Lea Fields crematorium said joining the national scheme was a great way to support local good causes.

To ﬁnd out more about Lea Fields Crematorium please visit: https://www.leaﬁeldscrematorium.co.uk/

To ﬁnd out more about St Andrew’s please visit: https://www.standrewshospice.com/

Bereaved Salford families provide £10,000 boost for Broughton House

Bereaved families in Salford have helped to raise £10,000 for Broughton House Veteran Care Village.

The money has been raised through a charitable scheme operated by the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM), of which Salford Council Bereavement Services is a member.

Under the scheme, with the consent of the family of the deceased, metal from medical implants is recycled after cremation and members of the scheme nominate charities which support and care for local people.

Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett said: “The money raised will be used to go to Broughton House – a truly fantastic local charity which provides invaluable care and support to veterans.

“The process of recycling the left-over metals is done with great dignity and with the wishes of family members of the deceased. We have been part of the scheme for some years now and have made several donations to local charities over these years totalling over £50,000.

“We are extremely grateful that, at a time of grief, families have allowed us to help others.”

Broughton House chief executive Karen Miller said: “The support of Salford Bereavement Services, particularly during these challenging times, is greatly appreciated and we are delighted to receive this fantastic donation.

“It will really make a huge difference. Donations such as this enable us to continue to care for and support veterans in both our care village and the local community. We are extremely grateful to Salford Bereavement Services for their kindness and generous assistance.”

Broughton House is currently undergoing a £13m transformation to create the UK’s first Veteran Care Village. The first stage of the redevelopment was completed in September 2020, when veterans moved into a new three-storey building comprising 32 residential and nursing care beds over two floors.

The next stage of the scheme is nearing completion and will feature 32 residential care and residential dementia care beds and six independent living apartments alongside an Armed Forces Support Hub.

Broughton House is currently welcoming new residents in line with its expansion – veterans who have served for any period of time in the armed forces, as well as their partners.

In July, Salford Council successfully progressed its 2020 Armed Forces Employer Recognition Scheme Silver Award to Gold for its outstanding commitment to supporting defence services within its organisation and the wider armed forces community across the city.

The media contact for Broughton House Veteran Care Village is Kevin Feddy Media. You can contact Kevin via kevin@kevinfeddymedia. co.uk or 0161 300 8543 or 07770 543112. For further information on this story, contact public.relations@salford.gov.uk

Pictured left to right are: Commodore Phil Waterhouse, the chairman of Broughton House, Salford City Council bereavement services ofﬁcer Luke Smith, Broughton House chief executive Karen Miller, Salford City Council bereavement services manager Barry Ellis and Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett.

Maidstone Crematorium has donated £10,000 to Mid Kent Mind through its Metal Recycling Scheme.

Maidstone Borough Council who owns the Vinters Park crematorium ﬁrst gain written consent from bereaved families, then following a cremation any metals retrieved are stored safely and collected quarterly. They are then taken to Shefﬁeld for separation, sorting and smelting and a high percentage of the higher-grade cobalt steel is sent to two companies that manufacture new orthopaedic implants. Any lower graded metal is traditionally recycled.

Mid Kent Mind are thrilled with the donation, Tom Fishenden, their Community Engagement Ofﬁcer said:

“Thank you for facilitating this donation and making it possible. This is a wonderful scheme which I personally wasn't aware of before being contacted by The Council, but I hope that knowing the difference this money makes to local organisations helps to bring some positive closure to families involved in the scheme.”

Cllr Daniel Rose, Chair of the Communities, Housing and Environment Committee added:

“We really appreciate how difﬁcult a decision it must be for any bereaved family to consent to orthopaedic implants such as knee and hip replacement joints being removed from the ashes. However, we are extremely grateful they do, as it is making such a huge difference to our local charities.”

Bath - SOBS

Bath & North East Somerset Council has donated £10,000, raised from the recycling of metals reclaimed from Bath’s Haycombe Crematorium, to a Bath charity which offers a support group for adults who have been affected by a suicide loss.

Bath Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide (SoBS) provides a safe and comforting space for adults to share their feelings with others who have had the same experience.

Ann, a volunteer with the group, said: “We are delighted to be awarded a grant from the ICCM Recycling Scheme which ensures our group can continue and helps us plan ahead for how we can best support people.”

Councillor Dine Romero, cabinet member for Children and Young People, Communities and Culture said: “I’m delighted we have been able to support Bath SoBS. It’s incredibly traumatic to lose someone to suicide and the experience has a longlasting effect on mental wellbeing. Knowing you are not alone and sharing your feelings with others who have been through the same experience can help people cope better.”

The not-for-proﬁt Recycling of Metals Scheme is run by the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management of which Bath & North East Somerset Council is a member. Members of the scheme collect the metal from the cremators and the money raised from recycling is divided between ICCM members for distribution among charities.

Councillor David Wood, cabinet member for Neighbourhood Services said: “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.”

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.

iccm recycling of metals scheme

DecembertoMay 2021 Recycling round up

December 2021 saw the ICCM/Orthometals recycling of metals scheme complete the ﬁnal round of nominations and awards for 2021. The effects of COVID-19 were devastating for the funds of charities from all of the United Kingdom as well as vastly increasing demand for their services.

The huge excessive death toll also had a deep effect on cemetery/crematorium staff and the bereaved public. Only by the continued support of all these groups could the scheme have continued to build with such success.

It is, therefore, a delight that by the end of December we had broken more records for donations.

I also think that I’m never again going to sit at the desk and worry, oh dear only a few nominations in, must remind people I’ve only got 50 forms.

134 forms later and maybe we did something right, so that’s the record on donation requests broken again and as everything’s gone out via BACS not cheques, for the ﬁrst time ever I’m not waiting on cheques being presented, lost or put safe. It’s a nice feeling.

Let’s do the statistics of it all as well, well I like statistics.

2053 separate nominations made since we began the scheme, donating a total of £13,486,000 to good causes. The December round added another £2,010,000 to that total – which is another record-breaking ﬁgure, and I don’t think we’ll ever break that one. Maybe we should hope that we won’t as it was a lot of precious metals from the deceased.

However, if we do more pacemakers then we might.

Back to the stats. 584 different charities have been funded by the scheme and 334 causes have only had a single award, often the smaller causes and that is 57% of all the causes nominated. That’s a nice spread of them.

In the December round we had new nominations for big breathAbbie's Fund, Abby's Hero's , Blossom Appeal – Colchester and Ipswich Hospitals Charity, Cradle Charity.org, Croydon Health Services Charitable Fund, Douglas Macmillan Hospice, Eastbourne Area Community Responders, Eastbourne District Hospital ICU Department, Edwards Trust Ltd, Help for Heroes, Home-Star Rochdale, Lakelands Hospice, LGBT Foundation, Miscarriage Information Support Service, MND Association - Yorkshire Dales Branch, My name's Doddie Foundation, North Bedfordshire Hospice Care Ltd, Over and Above - North Devon NHS Trust, Poppy Scotland Ayrshire, Prospect Hospice, Scotland's charity air ambulance, Smile for Joel, STARS Children Bereavement and support Services, The Ayrshire Hospice, The Candice Colley Foundation, The Market Place Leeds, The Norfolk Hospice, The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust Charity, The Swan Song Project, Three Ells Trust, Victim Support, Windmills, Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Charitable Fund and Young lives Vs Cancer.

Some people will know these; if you nominated them, then you should do and for many of us they’ll be new and shows how many good causes there are out there and how many new ones are set up each year to meet a need that hasn’t been identiﬁed before. Now the rolling top 10 of biggest funded causes through the scheme now stands as follows

1CRUSE

2Macmillan cancer care

3SANDS

4Marie Curie

5Samaritans

6Mayor's Appeals

7Survivors of Bereavement by suicide

8Alzheimer's society

9Air Ambulance services England

10Shooting Star (CHASE)

Once again from everyone at ICCM – to the staff of all crematoria, Orthometals, charity workers and most importantly the families of the bereaved. Thank you…

Trevor Robson, ICCM Finance and IT Manager

iccm recycling of metals scheme

Following the December 2021 awards of funds, the following press releases and information on charities have been supplied to support the scheme.

Maidstone crematorium donates £15,000 to CRUSE

Bereavement charity CRUSE will be benefitting from a £15,000 donation thanks to Maidstone Borough Council’s (MBC) crematorium Metal Recycling Scheme.

The money has been raised by retrieving metals from cremations. The team at the Vinters Park crematorium in Maidstone, in Kent, first gain written consent from bereaved families, then following a cremation any metals from knees and hips retrieved are stored safely and collected quarterly.

They are then taken to Sheffield for separation, sorting, and smelting and a high percentage of the higher-grade cobalt steel is sent to two companies that manufacture new orthopaedic implants. Any lower graded metal is traditionally recycled.

Hannah Yeomanson, from CRUSE, said: “This is an absolutely incredible donation and we are so grateful to everyone involved at Vinters Park crematorium.

“Such a significant donation comes at a very important time for CRUSE, as we are currently experiencing a huge increase in demand for our bereavement support services in and around Maidstone.

“This money will enable us to train new Bereavement Volunteers locally, to support bereaved people in the community through one of the most painful times in life, thank you so much again for this invaluable contribution, which will make a huge difference to so many people.”

Cllr Simon Webb, vice chair of the communities, housing and environment committee at Maidstone Borough Council, said: “To lose a loved one is just so sad and stressful, CRUSE provide support to anyone who needs it and I couldn’t think of a more worthy charity especially at this time of year. This payment will, I hope, go some way to providing a little comfort to someone who is in need of support at this very difficult time.

“It is heart-warming to know so many local charities have been helped through this scheme. It really is down to the generosity of bereaved families who make the difficult decision to consent to orthopaedic implants such as knee and hip replacement joints being removed from the ashes. We can’t thank them enough.”

The scheme is run by the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM) and since joining in 2013 MBC has donated £120,076 to bereavement-related charities. The donations started out as £5,000 and have steadily grown to this latest largest amount of £15,000.

MBC joined the scheme in 2012, prior to this, implants from loved ones used to be stored at the crematorium until there was a sufficient amount and would then be buried within the gardens of remembrance.

As this method of disposal has become less acceptable and like many other crematoriums in the UK and the continent, any metal residue found will be recycled unless the family wishes to make alternative arrangements.

The metals used for implants are special medical grade stainless steel, titanium, and cobalt chrome, which are all produced from non-renewable resources. In the future, these resources will become depleted and such metals will become less available for operations.

Therefore, this recycling scheme helps to protect the environment as well as saving resources and providing potential benefits for the living.

North Devon Crematorium – Over and Above

A North Devon hospital charity, Over and Above, is the latest charity to beneﬁt from the North Devon Crematorium’s role in a national metal recycling scheme.

Today, (Monday 13 December), representatives from the charity were presented with a cheque for £15,000 from the proceeds of the crematorium’s recycling scheme, which enables metals from cremated remains to be safely recycled. The money will be put towards The Fern Centre which provides support to those who have received a cancer diagnosis and their families.

Chair of North Devon Crematorium Joint Committee, Councillor Helen Walker, says: "We are thrilled to present this brilliant amount of money to our local hospital charity. This centre, which we are very fortunate to have in North Devon, allows cancer patients and their families access to information, therapy, counselling and other support as well as enabling them the opportunity to stay close to home through a difﬁcult time. I'm sure the money will be well spent."

Over and Above Fundraiser, Julie Whitton, says: “We are overwhelmed with the generous donation from ICCM Metals Recycling Scheme. This money will help the team within The Fern Centre provide support to anyone who has received a cancer diagnosis and is living with and beyond cancer as well as their partners, carers and children. We are specialised in working with the grief and trauma that this diagnosis brings and this money will help us enable patients and their families to live as fully as possible and to manage the anxiety that they may face.”

Over and Above is the registered working name of the Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust Charitable Fund. To ﬁnd out more about the work they do, telephone 01271 311772 or email: ndht.charity@nhs.net

Lewisham - St Christopher's

Thank you so much for your donation of £15,000 as part of the recycled metals scheme. This is absolutely fantastic and thank you for choosing to support St Christopher's. Your gift means so much to all the staff caring and supporting people across south east London when they need us most.

Over the last few months, we have been pleased to invite outpatients back to both our hospice sites for appointments, physio sessions and complementary therapy treatments. It is wonderful to be able to see people face to face at the hospice, after a year of having to provide much of our outpatient support online with staff working from home.

We've continued to care for people on our wards and our community nurses have been supporting people in their own homes by phone, video consultation and in person. No matter what happens we will continue to be there for people when they need us most - thanks to support from people like you.

Last year, the hospice also introduced a new service, Choose Home, providing care and support in Bromley and Lewisham so people can stay at home with their family in their ﬁnal weeks rather than be admitted to hospital. Choose Home is provided by carers, registered nurses and trained volunteers who are supported by consultant nurses, clinical nurse specialists and doctors over phone and video.

Our Choose Home volunteers provide a listening ear, make a cup of tea and provide company for those living alone between care visits, drawing on the skills of our carers and nurses as required. Choose Home aims to improve people's quality of life, reduce isolation and help them to stay at home in familiar surroundings. We have received very positive feedback from patients and families for this new service. One daughter of a person we supported to die at home said: "your care assistants took my fear away".

Please accept our sympathy and thank you for thinking of the Hospice and the care we provide for others at this difﬁcult time. Thank you for being part of this caring community and for being there for us while we continue to be there for others.

With best wishes

Carol Endericks Senior Fundraising Manager Left to right: Councillor Helen Walker, Mark DrummondBereavement (Crematorium) Manager, Julie Whitton Senior Charity Ofﬁcer for Over and Above

Shefﬁeld Council - St Lukes

Dear Friends,

Thank you for your most generous donation of £15,000.00 to St Luke's. Your continued support and generosity will make all the difference to the care we can give to our patients in the future.

Each year we provide specialist care entirely free of charge to around 1,800 local adults who have a wide variety of incurable illnesses. This donation not only allows us to continue with the work we've been doing for 48 years, but it makes it possible for us to look at new, innovative ways of caring for our patients and their families.

We need to raise £7.5 million each year to continue to support the people of Shefﬁeld. Only 25% of our income is from the NHS, the rest comes from our supporters through donations, events and gifts in Wills.

Thank you once again for your help and please do convey our sincere thanks to those involved; we simply couldn't continue in our work without supporters like you.

Yours sincerely,

Joasia Lesniak, Head of Fundraising

North East Lincolnshire – CRUSE

UK bereavement support charity, Cruse Bereavement support, with the local Grimsby, Cleethorpes & Louth branch beneﬁting from a £15,000 donation from Grimsby Crematorium.

Cruse offer nationwide support to those experiencing grief after the loss of a loved one. The charity answers some 30,000 calls to their helpline each year and this year alone some 24,000 people have received support from the charity.

The crematorium, managed by North East Lincolnshire council, raised the money from its metal recycling scheme.

The scheme raises thousands of pounds from the sale of recyclable materials which are salvaged following cremations. These usually comprise of metal from the cofﬁn and orthopaedic implants like hip and knee replacement joints.

Relatives of the deceased give their consent before the cremation and collection of metals goes ahead.

Branch manager and administrator at Cruse Bereavement Support, Lesley, said: This is a very welcome boost to our ﬁnances. It means we will be able to recruit and train new volunteers at a time when our resources have been severely stretched due to the increased demand on our service caused by the pandemic.”

To get in touch with Cruse Bereavement Support, you can contact the Grimsby, Cleethorpes and Louth branch on 07867 312658 (support-line), or email grimsby@cruse.org.uk. The national website is also available: www.cruse.org.uk- external site.

Councillor Stewart Swinburn, portfolio holder for environment and transport at North East Lincolnshire council, said: “This is the largest donation that we’ve ever made from this scheme and I’m really pleased to be able to present this cheque to another very deserving cause.

“Losing a loved one is incredibly tough and the impact of grief can really be profound. But with the right support on offer, you won’t have to take on that journey alone.”

This donation is the largest of it’s kind to be made from this scheme. Previously, the largest donation from the scheme was £10,000.

Clyde Coast Crematorium in Largs donates incredible sum to hospice

The cheque was handed over to Ayrshire Hospice chief executive Carla MacEwan by crematorium staff recently

The donation came through its membership of the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management’s Recycling of Metals Scheme.

Crematorium manager Jennifer Hamilton, said: "It is wonderful to be able to donate this sum, especially at this time of year. We are very aware that the fundraising activities of our local hospices have been curtailed during the pandemic and yet their services have never been more in demand. Our heartfelt thanks go to each and every family who have given us permission to recycle metals following the sensitive cremation of their loved one.

"We are immensely proud of our participation in the recycling scheme and since we opened our doors in 2018 we have donated £73,000 to local hospices alone.’

Carla added: "The funds raised will be used to continue to provide excellent care to patients with life limiting illness across Ayrshire."

Jennifer added: "Care, compassion, kindness and community are at the heart of everything we do here at Clyde Coast Crematorium. To be able to honour the memory of loved ones by supporting our community hospices is something that we are absolutely committed to, both now and in the future."

Eastbourne Area Community First Responders - Eastbourne Borough Council nomination

Eastbourne Area Community First Responders is the latest charity to beneﬁt from a metal recycling scheme, which has so far seen £87,000 donated to good causes.

Eastbourne Crematorium is a member of the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM) national metals recycling scheme.

The volunteers of Eastbourne Area Community First Responders are trained and dispatched by the South East Coast Ambulance Service to provide a ﬁrst response to 999 emergency calls that are close to where they live or work.

Councillor Alan Shuttleworth, Cabinet Member for Direct Assistant Services, said, “The fact the responders can be on the scene so quickly can be lifesaving.

“Their task once on the scene is to manage the emergency situation until paramedics arrive and then form part of the team under their direction. It’s a vital role requiring specialist skills and the ability to work under intense pressure.

“The award will make it possible for the responders to continue their lifesaving work and ensure deﬁbrillators across the town are maintained for years to come.”

Alec Stephens - Eastbourne Area Community First Responders, said, @On behalf of the Eastbourne Area Community First Responders (EACFRs) I would like to thank you for the wonderful donation of £15,000 to our organisation@.

This money will allow us to look after the Public Access Deﬁbrillator (PADs) around our town for some considerable time as well as keeping the EACFRs doing what they do best, saving lives.

When the Eastbourne Deﬁbrillator Partnership started in 2016 the biggest concern was the maintenance and upkeep of the PADs in our area, at that time we had only a few but we are now approaching 60 in Eastbourne, with new additions being regularly installed.

We are now in a much better position to continue our work.

Middlesbrough Council -Teenage Cancer Trust

A charity that supports young cancer suffers has received a much-needed boost thanks to a unique recycling scheme.

Teesside Crematorium’s donation of £15,000 to the Teenage Cancer Trust will help the charity provide specialised nursing care and support.

It’s the only charity of its kind in the UK delivering world-class cancer services for young people so they don’t have to face cancer alone. Under the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management’s Metal Recycling Scheme, families can give consent for the recycling of metals resulting from cremation.

These include metals used in orthopaedic implants such as hip and knee replacements and in the construction of cofﬁns.

The national scheme enables Middlesbrough Council - which runs the crematorium - to make an annual charitable donation to local good causes.

Councillor Barrie Cooper, Middlesbrough Council’s Executive member for Environment, Finance & Governance, visited Teesside Crematorium this week to present a cheque to Donna Bednarek from the Teenage Cancer Trust.

He said: “The Teenage Cancer Trust is a fantastic charity that makes a priceless difference to countless lives.

“They’re there to help young people and their families cope with some of the toughest challenges life can throw at them.

“I’m delighted that this innovative scheme can support such great work – the Teenage Cancer Trust is a very worth recipient of this year’s charity donation.”

The scheme has now donated more than £13.4 million to 583 charities and good causes across the United Kingdom.

L-R Councillor Barrie Cooper, Middlesbrough Council’s Executive member for Environment, Finance & Governance, Donna Bednarek of the Teenage Cancer Trust and Middlesbrough Council Operations Manager Joanne Holroyd, with this year’s charity donation under the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management’s Metal Recycling Scheme

Leicester City Council - Rainbows

Dear ICCM

Due to COVID, we have had to change the way we support many of our families, taking Rainbows outside of the Hospice building and into families' homes. Your support and generous gift of £15,000, which we received from the ICCM scheme via Gilroes Crematorium, has helped us to continue to offer these vital services.

Your donation will help to ensure that local families, like Isla’s are able to receive the vital care and support from Rainbows. “Rainbows will always have a special place in our hearts,” said Stacey, Isla’s mum. “Meeting other families who are in similar situations has made us feel really comfortable. No one asks questions and both our girls are made to feel really special.”

Once again, on behalf of everyone at Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People, thank you for your wonderful support.

With very best wishes

Gary Farnﬁeld

The Oaks Crematorium – Swan Song Project

A donation of £15,000 from a Havant crematorium will help a charity provide its services across the whole country. The donation to The Swan Song Project by The Oaks Crematorium was thanks to the generosity of families who have lost a loved one.

The donation was raised through a national veriﬁed scheme that recycles metals which remain after cremation with the express consent of bereaved families, such as items used in the construction of the cofﬁn or orthopaedic implants. The charity, the Swan Song Project, was chosen by colleagues at The Oaks to receive the donation of £15,000 due to the positivity it created around a subject that is often treated as taboo.

It gives people facing end of life and those surrounding them the opportunity to write and record their own original song. Swan Song founder, Ben Buddy Slack, said: “For a charity our size, this donation really does make such a huge difference and we really appreciate the support.

“It is a very exciting time at Swan Song as we aim to make our unique service available across the country. The pandemic forced us to ﬁnd a way to write songs with people over Zoom which has gone amazingly well. “We want anyone who is facing the end of their life or dealing with a bereavement to have the opportunity and support to write and record their Swan Song and we are excited about being able to offer this service to more and more people.

“This donation will make a huge difference to our ability to expand the service. We are working hard to build new partnerships, raise awareness and recruit and train more songwriters so more people can have the opportunity to leave their legacy in song.” Sue Mawson, Crematorium & Natural Burial Ground Team Manager, said: “The funeral service itself is often personalised, with music, pictures and words, but as we all know, a song will last a lifetime.

“To have a song written and sung just for one speciﬁc person strikes me as a beautiful gift. Even at the saddest time of facing the inevitable, the photos and stories spark joy and love that is evident, and the time and effort that Ben and his team put into this can never be assumed.

“Lockdown has affected everyone, and especially during funeral when attendance was limited, closeness was avoided and all at a time when this was what was important. The Swan Song Project has enabled a person in end of life to have a voice and to be heard in a way they have chosen for themselves.”

The Oaks Crematorium in Havant is part the regional, independent cooperative, Southern Co-op, and is set in 8.5 acres surrounded by ancient semi-natural woodland and a wildflower meadow, providing a picturesque setting and a space for all cultures, ages and beliefs. To find out more about The Oaks Crematorium, visit www.havantcrematorium.co.uk. Or to find out more about The Swan Song Project, visit www.swansongproject.co.uk.

Mintlyn Crematorium - East Anglian Air Ambulance

Mintlyn Crematorium in King's Lynn has raised £15,000 for the East Anglian Air Ambulance by recycling the metal medical implants recovered after cremation. The metal from these implants is recycled after cremation, with consent from the family of the deceased.

The money has been raised through a charitable scheme, operated by the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management, of which Mintlyn is a member

Twice a year, the institute asks its scheme members to nominate local charities which help to support people to cope with the death of a loved on, to receive a donation.

Councillor Brian Long, Cabinet member for Corporate Services at the Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk, said: “East Anglian Air Ambulance carry out life-saving work every day and have done an incredible job to continue operating during the difﬁcult conditions of the Covid-19 pandemic. I appreciate the vital work they carry out.

“This donation of £15,000 is the largest one Mintlyn, which is owned and operated by the borough council, has ever made as part of this scheme and I thank the crematorium staff for organising it.”

Barbara McGee, Fundraising Manager of East Anglian Air Ambulance, said: “We can’t thank Mintlyn Crematorium enough for considering us for the nomination which resulted in such an amazing donation.

Eltham Crematorium - Greenwich and Bexley Community Hospice

Dear Julie

On behalf of all of us at Greenwich and Bexley Community Hospice, I'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone at Eltham Crematorium for donating an incredible £15,000 to the Hospice. The Crematorium Committee over the years have been so supportive of the Hospice and we really appreciate this, particularly over the last few difﬁcult years we have all faced.

While COVID-19 continues to be part of our daily challenge, our team are still working hard to meet demand and ensure those who need our support, get the very best care. The impact of the pandemic will be felt here for a long time to come yet, and has in fact changed the way we work enormously.

Your support means we can continue to be there for people when they need us most.

We wouldn't have been able to get through the last two years without the support of our community and organisations like you being so generous during a tough and uncertain time for everyone.

Thank you once again for supporting members of our local community facing and living with a terminal illness.

Yours sincerely,

Kate Heaps Chief Executive

Walsall Council -Mayor’s Appeal

Dear ICCM

I would like to send you my most sincere thanks for your very kind donation of £15,000.00 to the Mayor's Appeal. I am most grateful for your support.

Monies raised will be donated to the Mayor's Charity Appeal 2021/22 for the direct beneﬁt of Alzheimer's Society.

I know that my chosen charity will beneﬁt greatly from your kindness.

Yours sincerely, Councillor Rose Burley Mayor of Walsall 2021-2022

Mortlake Crematorium – London Air Ambulance

Mortlake Crematorium – run by Superintendent Natasha Bradshaw in West London – chose London’s Air Ambulance Charity as its 2021 Charity of the Year and donated a gift of £15,000.

Natasha was aware of London’s Air Ambulance, however the life-saving work the charity does on a daily basis was more clearly put into focus a few years ago, when her son was on a school trip in Richmond Park.

During the trip, a falling tree branch weighing over 300kg fell, crushing one of the school children, Sacha. Sacha suffered severe head injuries and broke his leg, arms, pelvis, back and ﬁve of his ribs. London’s Air Ambulance trauma team were dispatched to the scene where they provided critical care, including anesthetising Sacha. They then ﬂew him to The Royal London Hospital for emergency treatment on his traumatic brain injury. Without the help of London’s Air Ambulance, Sacha wouldn’t be here today. Thankfully, he is, and he recently visited Mortlake Crematorium to receive the gift with London’s Air Ambulance’s Pilot, James Hamilton.

“I have followed London’s Air Ambulance ever since Sacha’s accident. His parents always say how they never imagined needing the helicopter,” said Natasha. “When I came across the amazing Picking up the Pieces podcasts, it really hit home listening to Jakki and Laura.”

In our podcast series, Myleene Klass meets those who have been touched by London’s Air Ambulance Charity to hear what happens when patients and loved ones have to adjust after their lives have been torn apart. One episode, with a focus on bereavement, featured Jakki and Laura: two mothers of teenage boys – George and Dan – who both died in particularly traumatic circumstances.

What was so key about that podcast was how it highlighted the amazing work London’s Air Ambulance Charity does in giving people time to say goodbye. Sacha’s story is a great one in the sense that he’s lived, sadly not everyone does. But in some of those cases you’ve been able to give people time to get to hospital, say goodbye and sometimes become donors. That’s invaluable to so many people,” said Natasha. “London’s Air Ambulance makes so much of a difference, and that’s why Mortlake Crematorium nominated you to be our Charity of the Year 2021. We also like to work with charities that have a local impact, and you’ve had a huge impact in our community, especially with Sacha.”

Previous bereavement charities that have been nominated include Sands Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Charity, Princess Alice Hospice and Good Grief Trust. “We like to select charities that help people with bereavement in the local community. Here at the crematorium we run pop-up grief cafes, where anyone can come and enjoy some cake, knowing it is a safe space to talk if they want to.

“We’re proud to be a key part of the community, and are proud to have London’s Air Ambulance Charity in our community too.”

The £15,000 donation came from a national scheme in which metals that remain after the cremation process are collected and recycled. “With the families’ permission, metal supports – such as hip replacements, metal knees, pins that have pieced people back together after an accident – can be recycled; enabling us to donate much-needed funds to charity,” explained Natasha. “This is an annual process and we’re so glad to be able to share it with many amazing charities.”

London’s Air Ambulance Charity is incredibly grateful to Mortlake Crematorium for the nomination and gift. Thanks to organisations like Natasha’s, we can continue to provide cutting-edge care at the roadside and save more lives in London.

James Hamilton and Sacha receiving the cheque from Mortlake Crematorium

Breckland Crematorium – The Norfolk Hospice

A hospice has been given a huge boost thanks to the kindness of a crematorium and the bereaved relatives using its services.

The Norfolk Hospice, Tapping House, has received a donation of £15,000 raised through the recycling of metals by Breckland Crematorium.

Nathan Rollings, a director of the crematorium, told Your Local Paper: “The amount has been raised through a scheme set up by the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management where the residual metals left after cremation has taken place, such as ﬁxings used in the construction of the cofﬁn and medical implants, are collected and recycled with the family’s permission.

“All the proceeds which are left after the costs of collecting and recycling the metals are donated to charities.

“This is a much more environmentally sensitive way of dealing with these metals where historically they would have been buried in crematorium gardens.

“Breckland Crematorium nominated The Norfolk Hospice to receive a donation because of the very important work it does within our local communities to support those with life limiting illnesses by providing care both within the hospice and at home.”

The hospice’s fundraising manager, Lindsey Atkin, added: “We are thrilled to receive this fantastic donation.

“These funds will not only help provide vital care for people living with life limiting illnesses in the local community, but also provide essential bereavement care for their loved ones too.”

South Essex Crematorium presents £15,000 to WAY, Widowed and Young

A charity helping those who have lost a partner at a young age beneﬁtted from a massive £15,000 presented by South Essex Crematorium.

The Deputy Mayor of Havering, Councillor Christine Vickery, joined staff from the Council’s bereavement service, in presenting the cheque to WAY, Widowed and Young, a charity that provides peer to peer support to young widowed people, married or not, with or without children, inclusive of sexual orientation, gender race and religion.

Jo Sedley-Burke, Chair of the Charity’s Board, who joined WAY following the death of her wife Paula in 2017 said:

“When you lose your partner you lose your future…..With WAY, there is always someone there for you – no question or statement is too weird.”

“I would like to say a huge thank you to South Essex Crematorium for choosing to support WAY and for helping us to reach out to more young widowed people to show that there is support out there and that you don’t have to grieve alone. The donation feels particularly poignant for me because my wife Paula was cremated at this Crematorium.”

WAY is the only national charity in the UK for men and women aged 50 or under when their partner died. Founded 25 years ago this month, WAY now has more than 4,300 members across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland – with over 220 members in Essex.

WAY membership offers friendship, support and understanding through a secure members’ only website that offers a safe place for members to meet and chat online and meet ups both online and in person. Members also have access to a conﬁdential 24-hour telephone helpline that offers free counselling and advice.

Cllr. Christine Vickery said:

“We are enormously grateful to those families who have taken part in this specialist recycling scheme and it is a privilege to support people who are uniquely equipped to help one another as they rebuild their lives.”

For more information on WAY, Widowed and Young please visit: https://www.widowedandyoung.org.uk

Croydon

Memorial garden to be built at hospital thanks to £15k charity donation – Croydon Borough Council

A new memorial garden will be built at a hospital thanks to a £15,000 charity donation.

The money, from Croydon Crematorium, will fund the Crocus Garden of Remembrance at Croydon University Hospital, a new mortuary memorial garden which will support families affected by the loss of a child.

It will give families a peaceful place to walk, sit and reﬂect.

The garden will feature a paving area, stepping stones, green living walls and benches.

The donation was made via The Institute of Cemetery & Crematorium Management’s metal recycling initiative to Croydon Health Charity, the dedicated charity for Croydon Health Services NHS Trust.

Elaine Clancy, joint chief nurse at Croydon Health Services NHS Trust, said: “We are very grateful for this donation which will support many bereaved families during a difﬁcult, challenging, and often traumatic time.

“These projects will help to provide a compassionate, effective, and sensitive bereavement service at Croydon University Hospital to local people.”

Croydon Health Charity raises money for Croydon Health Services NHS Trust to enable the hospital to provide the best possible care for its patients and the local community.

Hereford Crematorium

Herefordshire Mind has been presented with a cheque for £15,000 from Hereford Crematorium.

The crematorium has been part of a national metal recycling scheme since 2011, which has allowed it to donate over £120,000 (and counting) to local charities.

The Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM) launched their metal recycling scheme in 2005 as a way to recycle the metal recovered from cremated remains instead of burying them. Participating crematoria are asked to nominate a local bereavement charity to be given a share of surplus monies from the recycling process each year.

The service is provided at no cost to crematoria who have signed up to the scheme and metals are not recycled without the next of kin’s permission, which is sought at the time of the funeral arrangements.

David Harding, Development Manager at Herefordshire Mind, said: "On behalf of everyone at Herefordshire Mind, a massive thank you to the ICCM recycling programme, Herefordshire Council and Hereford Crematorium. Most importantly, heartfelt thanks to all of the families who have supported this scheme. We are humbled and incredibly grateful to you all. The funds will be used to continue our support of some of the most vulnerable members of communities across our wonderful county of Herefordshire.”

Pictured: Elaine Clancy, chief nurse (middle) with Kevin Pilkington (right) and Eddie Ranger (left) from Croydon Crematorium.

Press releases and information from charities that received funds in the December 2021 recycling of metals nominations round

July 2022 Recycling update – now worth more than Shearer

After a very busy time again, ICCM/Orthometals recycling of metals scheme ﬁnished its latest round of nominations and awards in July 2022.

The consent of the bereaved and participation by UK Crematorium meant that BACS payments for £1,776,000 were issued from July into September 2022 – our banks online payments thing really loves me when I stack them up for 3 months.

It also means the partnership with Orthometals and with the bereaved and their families has now donated a total of £15,262,000 since it started. Which in old/less silly football terms does mean its passed Alan Shearer’s then world record move to Newcastle in 1996.

Sadly, we can’t get Ant and Dec to pose to celebrate, but many images of the success and delight from charities will be shared in due course and there’s a nice one below too.

In July we were able to make 152 separate awards to charities. Which also for the grand totals means that since we started, we have made 2,205 separate payments.

We’ve also paid out to 614 different charities and 57% of all the funds have gone to a single charity donation so far.

While this is not always the case the new charities for this round are: -

#willdoes, Blackpool Carers Centre, Bridgeend Carers Centre

Childrens Cancer North, Daft as a brush cancer patient care, Focres Support Limited

Freddie's Wish, Friends of Linthorpe Cemetery, Friends of Thorntree Cemetery

Herriot Hospice Homecare, Hunts Community Cancer Network, In Sue's Name

Kilbryde Hospice, Lighthouse, Natasha Allergy Research Foundation

Ottery Help Scheme, Panceatic Cancer UK, Pied Piper Appeal

Pulmonary Fibrosis Trust, Ripple, Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation

Shine Youth, St Joseph’s Hospice, Suffolk Family Carers Ltd

Sunﬂowers Suicide Support, The Anne Robson Trust, The Firgrove Centre

The Harbour , Tynedale Hospice at Home, Wandsworth Bereavement Services

And We mind and Kelly Matter

That’s quite a range of causes some I’d heard of some I hadn’t but importantly ones that scheme members had and knew needed support.

Another ﬁrst has also been broken this round.

Since the scheme began CRUSE has been the biggest receipt of funds, the latest top 10 is below, however, scheme members have now ensured that over £1 million has gone to CRUSE and its local branches across the whole of the UK. This is a fantastic achievement by all parties for care towards the bereaved.

The to date July 2022 top 10 table also reads very impressively for how help has been provided to the bereaved.

While we celebrate the work of the biggest causes, we also celebrate the work of all the causes nominated across the United Kingdom, big or small the funds are vital to them and your work and support is also vital to the bereaved.

Any crematoria that are not members and wish to sign up can contact – trevor.robson@iccm-uk.com for an information pack and all current scheme members will be informed about the next round of nominations when it has opened, for a few months I’m not looking at forms amazingly.

ICCM believes that Orthometals remain our chosen partner due to their ethics and experience; they now recycle metals from 1250 crematoria around the world. They have state of the art facilities and have conducted research in their 25 years’ experience in the metals sector to ﬁnd the most efﬁcient way of extracting and recycling the metals from cremation.

They have sophisticated software to plan and track their collections to make sure they are carried out in the most efﬁcient way. Financial and environmental costs are kept as low as possible through bulk collection and shipping. Once recycled, the metals are already in Europe so can be sold to a wider market and the best price fetched.

Othometals keep very detailed records of all the metals recycled, so if you need information about how much you have submitted and how much you have received in return, please let me know and I will ask them to produce that for you.

We know there are other companies in the market, however, £15 million and 2,205 donations, so far, support that something is working well, and we hope you think that too.

Again, thank you for your help to make a difference.

Trevor Robson ICCM Finance and IT Manager

Charity Amount donated Number of donations CRUSE £1,088,078 161 Macmillan cancer care £ 925,962 125 SANDS £ 563,383 104 Marie Curie £ 345,068 56 Samaritans £ 228,628 31 Mayor’s Appeal causes £ 214,228 38 Alzheimer’s society £ 187,630 29 Air Ambulance services England £ 172,145 20 Young lives Vs Cancer £ 168,000 18 Survivors of Bereavement by suicide £ 166,873 21

iccm recycling of metals scheme

Press releases and information from charities that received funds in the latest round of recycling of metals nominations

The bereavement services care team of Wellingborough Bereavement Services Ltd, (based at Nene Valley crematorium) are feeling grateful to the ICCM for selecting the following two charities to receive signiﬁcant monetary donations. It is always overwhelming to hear and see how emotionally appreciative people involved in working with the charities become, when receiving these donations.

The team at Nene Valley crematorium serves the community of Wellingborough, and beyond. Manager for the crematorium, Tracy Lawrence, said: “I am old enough to remember a time when this scheme didn’t exist, but cannot imagine it not being available now, and note recently how much these donations have increased in value. Therefore, the knowledge of the schemes continued success delights us with how it goes from strength to strength that subsequently provides a feeling of self-worth, for all involved - we feel privileged and extremely proud, for the small part we play with being able to nominate local charities to receive donations that supports a variety of crucial bereavement related work. A huge well deserved ‘shout out’ to the ICCM for making this happen - THANK YOU”.

West Northamptonshire Air Ambulance (WNAA)

A cheque for £15,000 was presented on Tuesday 28 June 2022, by the manager, Tracy Lawrence, (on behalf of the Company’s Chair for the Board of Directors, Councillor Paul Bell) to Keith Brown, a volunteer representing the WNAA, who provide lifesaving services - ‘There but for the grace of God, go I’. The raised funds have already supported eight missions for this crucial Air Ambulance service.

Since the opening of the crematorium on 19 September 2016, the team have nominated 5 local charities that have collectively beneﬁtted from £38,000 because of the recycling scheme.

Councillor Paul Bell said: “It's privilege to give this donation on behalf of Nene Valley crematorium to Air Ambulance services, who provide an emergency service to people of Northamptonshire”.

WNAA’s Fund-raiser Executive, Ethan Hopkinson, commented:

“The support of our local communities is so important to our charity as we receive no government funding and rely solely on generous donations like these to remain operational. Each potentially lifesaving mission costs £1,700. So, on behalf of the charity, I’d like to say a huge thank you to the wonderful Nene Valley crematorium, which has helped fund over eight missions - our crews are available, 24/7, 365 days a year, and vital support like this means we can continue to deliver our lifesaving, frontline critical care to those who need it most across Northamptonshire.”

Tracy Lawrence (left) from the crematorium and Keith Brown, volunteer (right).

Pictured: Bereavement Services Care Team (Crematorium). Left to right, KATHLEEN Walker, Events and Memorials Assistant, PHILL Castree, Operations Assistant, CAMERON Menzies, Gardener, TRACY Lawrence, Manager, FERN Seagermills, Head Gardener, RICHARD Porter, Operations Manager, and ALISON Hall, Business Assistant.

We Mind and Kelly Matters

A cheque for £12,000 was presented on Tuesday 11 October 2022 by Councillor Paul Bell, to Katie Macdonald, Community and Engagement Coordinator, representing the ‘We Mind and Kelly Matters’ charity, who provide a variety of services related to suicide. These funds will support bereavement support for those bereaved by suicide and suffering with their mental health.

“As Chairman of Nene crematorium, it's honour to present the cheque for £12,000 to ‘We mind and Kelly Matters’, a local based charity, and in remembering Kelly who lived locally”.

I have a personal interest in mental wellness and support for bereaved people’s grief. Therefore, listening with much interest at the ICCM’s recent Learning Convention, to the presentations given by Carole Henderson and Sophie Scott, about the amazing work happening in their field of expertise. Myself having just refreshed my own grief specialist qualification via Caroles excellent training programme, which I highly recommend. For those of you that couldn’t attend Convention, Carole can be contacted via www.edu-therapy.uk. This website is well worth a look to help us all plan how we can initialy ensure that we look after ourselves, before we provide care for those we serve. And once our own wellness is taken care off, a foundation to build upon naturally happens, that we have found at Nene Valley, builds confidence to provide the excellent services we provide when caring for bereaved people. And from Sophie’s candid sharing of information, I am also interested to learn more about how The Westerleigh Group plan to roll out the looking after their team members – excellent ‘trailblazers’. Alan Jose, we need to talk We can all make a difference, so from a TEAM approach, I say – Together Everyone Achieves More.

We Mind and Kelly Matters is a new charity, created in 2019 that is based in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire. A legacy for the late Kelly Hewitt who struggled with her mental health, suffering a short period of anxiety and depression – Kelly took her own life on 18 December 2018, with the funeral happening at Nene Valley Crematorium. The charity’s mission is to help as many people as possible and particularly children with their mental health, to prevent suicide. Several initiatives have been developed that led to the creation of MASK – Mentalhealth Awareness Suicide prevention in Kelly’s memory. MASK offers hope to others through education, intervention, support, and training.

The message from this charity locally, and nationally more widespread now, is to:

1.Take personal responsibility for looking after family, friends, and colleagues, who may be suffering, (generally in silence) given the known stigma still associated with mental health, particularly with the word ‘suicide’ – listening, (really listening) and kind words, may be all it takes to safe a life!

2.Utilise a technique of asking, are you ok? And being prepared to ask a second time – are you really, ok? Particularly at the end of the conversation, when the response to the ﬁrst question is a typical, ‘I’m ﬁne’

3.Practice the use of this technique with several friends, and from experience it is guaranteed that you will ﬁnd out something you didn’t know from one of those friends “Be the heroes your friends need” - Roman Kemp 2022

4.Be aware that generally those people that appear to be happy, life is being so good for them, and act out as the ‘live and soul’ of a party, are known to be the ones struggling inside - needing to talk, but that’s the last thing they want to do, ﬁnding this hard. They may just be wearing a mask

Sherry Adams, CEO of We Mind & Kelly Matters said: “We would like to thank the team at Nene Valley Crematorium, for their signiﬁcant donation of £12,000 raised in conjunction with the ICCM Recycling of Metals Scheme. It seems appropriate that money which has been raised through the goodwill of bereaved families should be used to support some of those very families. Through this donation, we can continue to provide free bereavement support to those affected by suicide”.

We may not know who is suffering, so “In a world where you can be anything, BE KIND” - Caroline Flack December 2019. We know what happened shortly after this comment – the very sad and untimely death of Caroline on 15 February 2020

Tracy Lawrence Manager Left to right, Sam Whitlock, Events and Memorials Assistant, Richard Porter, Phill Castree, Business Support, Councillor Paul Bell, Alison Hall, Julie Carter, Assistant Manager, Katie Macdonald, Fern Seagermills, Tracy Lawrence, and Cameron Menzies.

and Registrar for Wellingborough Bereavement Service Limited. (Nene Valley Crematorium)

Mortlake Crematorium - The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation

This year, Mortlake crematorium, run by superintendent Natasha Bradshaw in West London, chose The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation as its 2022 charity of the year and donated a gift of £12,000.

The charity was borne out of tragedy when in 2016 Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, just 15 years old died after eating a baguette sandwich bought from a sandwich chain at Heathrow Terminal 5 before boarding a British Airways plane. Sesame seeds which she was allergic to, had been baked into the dough of the bread and weren’t invisible to the naked eye. Neither were they listed on the ingredients label, and she died in a hospital in Nice later that day.

Natasha Ednan-Laperouse

At the inquest, the coroner’s verdict stated the legal loophole in the food-law was being misused by food businesses. It meant that there was no legal requirement for allergen information on the baguette packaging and that Natasha had been reassured by that. Had the ingredient label listed sesame seeds, she would be alive today. Natasha’s parents, Nadim and Tanya campaigned tirelessly for full-ingredient labelling and Natasha’s Law came into full-force last October 2021. The law provides vital information to help families with food allergies be able to make safe choices when buying pre-packed food; it is life-saving information.

Today the charity, is a voice for people and families who are struggling to navigate their lives around food allergies. There are currently 2 to 3 million people with diagnosed food allergies and at least one food allergic child in every classroom across the UK. The numbers are increasing at an alarming rate and yet science still doesn’t understand why. The charity helps families who contact them daily as they struggle with very real dangers to their health and well-being. Natasha’s parents from Fulham in SW London felt very isolated as parents to an allergic child and they are determined to change this for families today. They speak at conferences and seminars across the UK, educating and raising allergy awareness for organisations, businesses and employees on the importance of being allergy inclusive and how it is possible to achieve this.

Medical research into food allergies has to date been woefully underfunded and in May this year The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation funded the launch of a ground-breaking clinical trial to focus on children and young people with milk and peanut allergies in a new ground-breaking £2.2m oral immunotherapy trial.

The study aims to plug the current Oral Immunotherapy (OIT) research gap by proving that everyday foods instead of expensive pharmaceutical drugs can be used as a practical treatment. If it's successful, it will empower the NHS to provide cost-effective treatments and the more cost effective they are, the greater opportunity to treat more people in the country with food allergies.

Nadim and Tanya also support bereaved families who have lost children to food allergies. As well as attending inquests, they offer help, whether practical or emotional, wherever and whenever it may be needed. Earlier this year they were awarded OBE’s. They said,

“We have dedicated our OBEs to Natasha and every single soul that has been lost to allergies. We also dedicate them to everyone who has this condition and their loved ones who worry for them every single day.

Tanya and Nadim

If you would like to know more about the work of Natasha’s Foundation and how you too can make a positive difference to those living with food allergies, you can sign up to receive a monthly newsletter outlining the work of the foundation here. https://www.narf.org.uk/natashas-army. To donate, visit: https://www.narf.org.uk/ donate. Or to ﬁnd ways to fundraise for the foundation please visit here https://www.narf.org.uk/support-us

If you enjoy learning, sharing and community through social media, the charity has high engagement on its Instagram and Facebook channels and can also be found on twitter and LinkedIn. The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation *FB, @Natashasfoundation *Instagtram, @Natashaslegacy *twitter

The £12,000 donation came from a national scheme. Metals that remain after the cremation process are collected and recycled. “With the families’ permission, metal supports – such as hip replacements, metal knees, pins that have pieced people back together after an accident – can be recycled; enabling us to donate much-needed funds to charity,” explained Natasha. “This is an annual process and we’re so glad to be able to share it with many amazing charities.”

The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation is humbled and grateful to Mortlake Crematorium for the nomination and gift.

Milton Keynes Council

Milton Keynes Council has stepped in to ensure a children’s hospice for babies and children is receiving a £12,000 boost thanks to a national scheme which recycles metal left behind after cremations.

Oxfordshire-based Helen & Douglas House helps families in Milton Keynes and the surrounding areas cope with the challenges of looking after a terminally ill baby or child. The charity provides round the clock care at their hospice in Oxford and at home for local children and their families.

Only when a bereaved family gives permission, the Council works with the ICCM (The Institute of Cemetery and Cremation Management) to raise funds from the sale of metals recovered after cremations at Crownhill Crematorium. The metals come from items such as medical implants and artiﬁcial joints.

MK Council has nominated Helen & Douglas House to be the latest recipient of funding raised through the scheme. It has donated more than £46,000 to local charities through metal recycling since 2014.

“We would like to say a huge thank you the Milton Keynes Council for donation £12,000 to Helen & Douglas House. This money will make a huge difference to the lives of local children like Toby from Milton Keynes, who we care for at the hospice and at home. This donation will enable us to help families like Toby’s cope with caring for a child with a life shortening condition and support them when their child has died through this difﬁcult time. This would not be possible without amazing people like Milton Keynes Council.”

Clare Periton, CEO at Helen & Douglas House

“The local charities we help have told us how useful these donations have been to their important work. We couldn’t participate in the scheme if it wasn’t for the kindness of the bereaved families who give us their permission. This funding is shared in the memory of their loved ones, with our heartfelt gratitude.”

Council Leader Pete Marland

Redditch Council

A charity that provides support to bereaved children in North Worcestershire received £12,000 after being nominated for funding by Redditch crematorium.

Touchstones Child Bereavement Support was nominated as part of the ICCM’s (Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management) metal recycling scheme.

The money will be used for Touchstones to support bereaved children in areas such as Redditch, Bromsgrove, Wythall, Rubery and Hagley.

The charity delivers a free support programme for people between ﬁve and 21 and their families.

They also advise families and schools on how to support children through bereavement, including pre-schoolers.They also offer advice to schools if there is a sudden death within the community and offer training packages that are tailored to each of their needs.

Touchstone’s bereavement support director Vicki Quarton said: “Working with bereaved children and young people is a huge privilege, and we are so grateful for this amazing grant award and will use every penny to continue supporting grieving children and young people across the whole of Redditch and Bromsgrove.”

Council leader Coun Matt Dormer added: “Grief is difﬁcult for an adult to process, but for a child, it can have such a signiﬁcant impact on their mental wellbeing.

“It is comforting to know that Touchstones will be able to continue supporting children and young people as a result of this funding.”

Sefton

A big thank you to Sefton cematorium and cemetery department for their very generous donation of £12,000 from their metal recycling scheme.

Mike Parr, our Chief Executive, was delighted to welcome David Clay to the hospice, and to express our thanks for the donation.

Wealden Crematorium - You Raise Me Up

The charity was founded by the late Jane Brooks and her husband Fraser in June 2011, after ﬁnding themselves in desperate need of comfort after their daughter collapsed and died suddenly. The charity’s sole purpose is to raise funds to support families suffering the loss of a young person aged 16-25 years.

The crematorium is part of an Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management scheme, which sees recycling of metals following the cremation of a deceased person –done with the written consent of each bereaved family. Metals are recycled by the ICCM with proceeds shared between its members to donate to their chosen charity – and this year Wealden Crematorium chose You Raise Me Up, which has a coffee shop and support centre in Polegate High Street.

Councillor Pam Doodes, Wealden’s portfolio holder for Public Health, said, “This year we chose to donate to You Raise Me Up because of the wonderful work it does to provide compassion and support to families dealing with the bereavement of a young adult.

“I am very happy we are donating the money to the East Sussex based charity so that their important and selﬂess work can continue.”

You Raise Me Up’s Leesa Pattison, CEO of You Raise Me Up, said, “Without the amazing support of people and organisations like the Wealden Crematorium, our charity wouldn’t be able to continue.

“The donation that we have been given will help pay for our helpline to stay open for two years and support groups and it will fund one family’s care for two years.”

Wealden Crematorium is a Wealden District Council run state of the art facility set in 25 acres of rural countryside on the A267 just south of Horam. It offers multi-faith services and welcomes people across the country.

Harrogate - Our Angels

Our Angels, a charity set up by grieving parents, has received a cheque for £12,000 raised by recycling metals recovered from cremations.

The money was donated by Harrogate Borough Council, whose bereavement services sell off the metals twice a year, with consent from bereaved families.

The recycled metals include those used in the construction of the cofﬁns and in orthopaedic implants such as replacements hips and knees and replacement joints.

Our Angels was formed in January 2009 when a group of bereaved parents joined together to support families who had lost a baby.

Emma Lofthouse, chairperson of Our Angels, said:

“Without generous donations like this one from Harrogate Borough Council, Our Angels would not be able to provide its vital support services for bereaved parents.

“Although, sadly, we can’t stop the loss of a baby, we can make sure that every family who faces a loss knows that there is support out there for them.

The photo shows commercial and community development manager Jon Clubb, Harrogate mayor Cllr Victoria Oldham, chairperson of Our Angels Emma Lofthouse, Harrogate deputy mayor Cllr Robert Windass and bereavement services manager Stephen Hemsworth.

“Every penny we receive goes into caring for families in their hardest moments, from the memory boxes, sibling support packs, miscarriage care packs, right through to the vital equipment we supply to the Harrogate hospital maternity ward.”

“I’d like to thank those families who, during a difﬁcult time, have consented to us recycling metals recovered. By raising this money, everyone involved has done their bit to helping local charities such as Our Angels.”

Harrogate borough mayor Cllr Victoria Oldham said:

“Our Angels support so many bereaved parents at what must be such a difﬁcult time. I hope these valuable funds will help them make a difference to the lives of people they support across the Harrogate district.”

Bath - Children’s Air Ambulance

A donation of £12,000 has been made to the Children’s Air Ambulance by Bath & North East Somerset Council after money was raised from recycled metals reclaimed from Haycombe Crematorium in Bath.

The Children’s Air Ambulance is a national lifesaving transfer service for critically ill babies and children that ﬂies medical teams and equipment to children who are too ill to travel, turning their local hospital into a specialist centre.

The service provides high-speed transfer of the children and can ﬂy them from one hospital to another for specialist care. The clinically designed helicopter also provides a ﬂying intensive care unit for babies and children.

Fiona Franklin, Community Fundraising Executive at The Children’s Air Ambulance, said: “The support of our local communities is so important to our charity as we receive no government funding and rely solely on generous donations like these to remain operational.

“Each potentially lifesaving mission costs £3,500 so, on behalf of the charity, I’d like to say a huge thank you to the wonderful team at Haycombe Crematorium and Bath & North East Somerset Council for their generous donation which will help save young lives. The charity often transfers patients from all over the Southwest, including Bath, so support from the local community is vital.”

The charity is the second to beneﬁt this year from money raised by the recycling of common items like medical pins, metal plates and artiﬁcial joints which are retrieved from the cremated remains of a loved one and recycled through a national scheme. In February, £15,000 was donated to Josephine’s Star, a charity which provides bereavement support for children and young people.

Councillor Dine Romero, cabinet member for Children and Young People, Communities and Culture said: “Through the recycling of metals scheme we have been able to make a second charity donation this year to an essential service, The Children’s Air Ambulance provides a fantastic, life-saving service and without it, many children would not be here now. This service really deserves our support.”

Councillor David Wood, cabinet member for Neighbourhood Services, said: “Any metals are always retrieved with the agreement of the family and we would like to thank everyone who has given consent. This has enabled waste metal to be recycled instead of being buried and has ultimately helped the lives of many people across the UK through ﬁnancial support. I hope this is of some small comfort if you have lost a loved one.”

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.

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

For more information about the Children’s Air Ambulance visit https:// theairambulanceservice.org.uk/childrens-air-ambulance/

Council staff with representatives from Children's Air Ambulance

Recycling of Metals donations 2021/22

Recycling of Metals Donatons 2021/22

recycling of metals

£10 million thank you’s

iccm recycling of metals scheme

Coychurch Crematorium – CLIC Sargent

Diolch yn fawr,

- St. Richard’s Hospice

Yeovil Crematorium - Josephine's Star

Bradford MBC – Bradford Hospice

Nottingham Wildlife Trust – Nottingham City Council

CLIC Sargent - Rochdale

Gwynedd Council - Music in Hospitals & Care

iccm recycling of metals scheme

May 2021 Recycling round up

Recycling of Metals

Conwy Nomination – Alzheimer’s Society

Mind Mid Kent

Barrow in Furness -Young Lives vs Cancer

Coychurch Crematorium - CRUSE

North East Lincolnshire – Parkinsons UK

Havering BC – Havering Street Pastors

Kings Lynn and West Norfolk – Cancer Care and Treatment Charitable Fund at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital

Newcastle under Lyme – Men Unite

Stafford Crematorium - A Child Of Mine

Colwyn Bay – St David’s Hospice

Swansea Crematorium – Marie Cure

Clyde Coast & Garnock Valley Crematorium Raises Vital Funds for St Vincent’s Hospice

iccm recycling of metals scheme

Bath - SOBS

iccm recycling of metals scheme

iccm recycling of metals scheme

North Devon Crematorium – Over and Above

Lewisham - St Christopher's

Shefﬁeld Council - St Lukes

North East Lincolnshire – CRUSE

Middlesbrough Council -Teenage Cancer Trust

Leicester City Council - Rainbows

Mintlyn Crematorium - East Anglian Air Ambulance

Eltham Crematorium - Greenwich and Bexley Community Hospice

Walsall Council -Mayor’s Appeal

Mortlake Crematorium – London Air Ambulance

Breckland Crematorium – The Norfolk Hospice

South Essex Crematorium presents £15,000 to WAY, Widowed and Young

Hereford Crematorium

iccm recycling of metals scheme

West Northamptonshire Air Ambulance (WNAA)

We Mind and Kelly Matters

Mortlake Crematorium - The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation

Natasha Ednan-Laperouse

Redditch Council

Sefton

Wealden Crematorium - You Raise Me Up

Harrogate - Our Angels

Bath - Children’s Air Ambulance

Articles inside

iccm recycling of metals scheme

iccm recycling of metals scheme

iccm recycling of metals scheme

iccm recycling of metals scheme

iccm recycling of metals scheme

iccm recycling of metals scheme

recycling of metals