Above: Councillor Mick Legg presenting the cheque to Nikki Poole, Community and Events Fundraising Manager at Willen Hospice (right) and her colleague Emily Penwright (left)
Milton Keynes City Council has stepped in to ensure a local hospice is receiving a £12,500 boost thanks to a national scheme which recycles metal left behind after cremations.
Willen Hospice supports the families of end-of-life patients with bereavement and emotional care as well as caring for people in the local community who have life-shortening illnesses. They work closely with GPs, hospitals, community nursing staff and social workers to ensure that local care is co-ordinated, informed and supportive at all levels.
When a bereaved family gives permission, the city 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 City Council has nominated Willen Hospice to be the latest recipient of funding raised through the scheme. This brings the total donated to local charities through metal recycling to more than £65,000 since 2014.
“We’re enormously grateful to the city council for our nomination of funds and ICCM. We provide free expert care and support for local people with a life-limiting illness, and their loved ones, at what may be the toughest time of their lives. But as one of the most poorly funded hospices in the country, we rely on the generosity of our community to raise vital income for us. Events like this really do help us continue supporting patients and their families across Milton Keynes.”
“Thanks to the kindness of those families who give us their permission, this fund-raising scheme has enabled us to provide a boost to Willen Hospice who do so much to support the local community. Their compassionate care makes an enormous difference to those living with a life-limiting conditions and their families.”
In the past year, more than a thousand people have been supported in their own homes or cared for in the In-Patient Unit at Willen Hospice. To learn more about Willen Hospice and the care they provide to local families, visit: https://willen-hospice.org.uk