Christmas tree collectors wanted!

Thursday 04 January 2018

If you have a van or some spare time this weekend then Jersey Hospice want to hear from you.

The charity is in need of more helping hands to collect Christmas trees on Saturday and Sunday, an initiative which has raised £270,000 for Jersey Hospice since it was launched 12 years ago.

So far they have 18 vans and 50 volunteers confirmed to do the collections across the island over the weekend, but they need a lot more help as they've had over 2,000 addresses booked already.

The trees are given to the States of Jersey Infrastructure Department, who turn them into soil improver for gardens and farmland on the island.

Pictured: The team started collections from businesses this week.

Trevor Parker, who has run the fundraising initiative since 2005, told Express: "I would be a bit more comfortable if I had another five vans on Saturday and another 5 vans on Sunday to give us capacity... At the moment it would be a struggle."

He added: "Three people are allocated to each van. One is the driver, one is the navigator and there's one person jumping in and out picking up the Christmas trees."

Last year, Jersey Hospice had 32 teams over the weekend collection, with most working on Saturday, leaving only a few pick-ups on the Sunday.

"We want to get the bulk done on Saturday, and then ideally be wrapped up by 2pm on Sunday. People get a bit despondent if they're still collecting at 5pm in the dark on Sunday, so we would love to have it done earlier," Trevor explained.

"We can be flexible. We will be starting at 08:30 on Saturday, but if people have commitments and can only start at 10:00, for example, that's fine, as they can still do a round of trees."

Pictured: Trevor (on the right) with some of the team behind the Christmas tree collection initiative.

There's been over £30,000 in online donations to the Christmas tree collection scheme so far, with registration closing at midnight tonight.

When asked what skills he's looking for, Trevor replied: "Physically fit, as there's a lot of lifting and shifting, and people with a good knowledge of the island to navigate... But I don't want to stand anyone down who wants to help."  

If you want to get involved with the collections this weekend, call 01534 510349.