Wessex Vale Crematorium supports adults with learning difficulties
Wessex Vale Crematorium has donated 12 wooden pallets to a Hampshire charity which supports adults with learning difficulties.
The pallets, which the crematorium acquired through a range of supply deliveries, will be stripped down and recycled into rustic wood pieces such as bird boxes, hedgehog houses, bug hotels and other items, and then be sold to raise funds for the Minstead Trust.
Based in the New Forest near Lyndhurst, the Minstead Trust was founded in 1986 with the aim of offering a day-service based on work skills to support and help develop the skills of adults with learning difficulties.
Wessex Vale Crematorium is part of Westerleigh Group, one of the UK’s largest independent owners and operators of crematoria and cemeteries, with 39 sites in England, Scotland, and Wales, all set within beautifully landscaped gardens of remembrance which provide pleasant, tranquil places for people to visit and reflect.
Like all crematoria within Westerleigh Group, Wessex Vale Crematorium frequently provides support to many charities and other organisations.
It was Crematorium Assistant Ann Davies who suggested the Minstead Trust would be a worthy cause to support.
She said: “I worked with the Trust for 20 years as a support worker, and my brother was also a service user, so the charity has been close to my heart since my brother started attending there in 1994.
“I was pleased that we were able to donate 12 pallets, with a view to further donations being made in the future, as we collect more from deliveries of memorial stones and other large items to Wessex Vale Crematorium.
“The items that the pallets will be turned into will be sold to raise much needed funds to enable the charity to continue working with adults with learning difficulties, offering them a safe space to be able to acquire valuable work and life skills.
“This enables individuals to be more empowered about their life goals and help them to find employment.
“It is hoped that we, at Wessex Vale, can offer a regular consignment of pallets to the Minstead Trust. This is a win-win situation – it enables us to dispose of something we no longer need more sustainably and at the same time gives Minstead Trust an opportunity to give the wood a new lease of life and in turn, further support the charity.
“Wessex Vale Crematorium gets to reduce it waste while also helping a charity which supports local adults with learning difficulties to enjoy a better quality of life.”
Lisa Johnson, Manager of Wessex Vale Crematorium, said: “It’s an honour to be able to support charities and organisations like the Minstead Trust, which make such a positive difference to the lives of local people.
“And it means just a little bit more when someone from our own team has a personal connection to a charity, as they know from first-hand experience how contributions like this will be valued and welcomed by the charity.
“We look forward to being able to supply more pallets in the coming months.”
To find out more about Wessex Vale Crematorium, visit www.wessexvalecrematorium.co.uk
Ends September 2023
Issued on behalf of Westerleigh Group by Empica. For further information, please contact:
Darren Bane or Martin Powell on 01275 394400 or email darren@empica.co
