A Heanor funeral firm has promised to help put food on the table of local families once again by raising money for two local foodbanks through its memorial Christmas tree charity appeal.
Gillotts Funeral Directors will launch its annual Christmas appeal next week, when it will again be inviting relatives of loved ones who have died during the year to leave messages of remembrance on Christmas trees at its office in Abbott Street.
The company has held the appeal every year since 2005 but was forced to change its plans last year by erecting a large Christmas tree in the grounds of St Lawrence’s Church, in Church Street, because of COVID restrictions.
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Picture shows: From left, Smalley Christmas tree grower Otto Bock, Anthony Topley, a partner at Gillotts Funeral Directors, and gardener Craig Plunkett, of CP Garden Services, collect the Christmas tree for Gillotts Funeral Directors’ Heanor office’s memorial appeal.
The easing of lockdown this time round means that Gillotts will return to erecting a tree at its premises again and will officially launch its appeal at 5pm on Saturday (Nov 20) to coincide with Heanor’s town Christmas light switch-on.
Gillotts operates five offices, in Heanor, Eastwood, Kimberley, Selston and Stapleford, and each one will have their own real tree this year, all of which have been sourced from local grower Otto Bock’s Christmas tree plantation in Smalley.
For each message left on the branches of its trees, Gillotts donates £1 to a charity fund, which this year will be split between five local foodbanks, including Salcare, in Ray Street, and the St Andrew’s Food Bank, at St Andrew’s Church in Langley Mill.
Anthony Topley, a partner in Gillotts Funeral Directors, said that everybody at the company is looking forward to hosting its launch event, although ongoing caution concerning COVID means that the launch event will be held outside.
He added: “We had a wonderful response to our appeal last year, despite the restrictions, and are hugely grateful to have been able to work in partnership with St Lawrence Church and Heanor and Loscoe Town Council to ensure our families had somewhere to leave their messages.
“However, we’re delighted to be returning to having a tree at our office again this year and are looking forward to welcoming our local families to our premises on the switch-on night.
“We’re also pleased to announce that we will once again be donating the proceeds to our local food banks, which do so much good work to support families who are struggling to make ends meet.”
Gillotts’ Eastwood branch will launch its Christmas tree appeal on December 30 while families will be able to leave their messages on trees at its remaining offices in Kimberley, Selston and Stapleford from December 1 onwards.
For more information visit www.gillotts.co.uk
