Cannock Chase Crematorium is delighted to announce that a cash donation of £12,000 has been made on behalf of the crematorium to St Giles Hospice. The hospice supports those living with an incurable illness, those caring for someone who is, and those grieving the death of a loved one.

Cannock Chase Crematorium is a member of the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management’s (ICCM) metal recycling scheme, whereby residual metal items such as orthopaedic implants or metals used in the construction of the coffin are retained, following the cremation process, and recycled, with the written consent of the bereaved family.

The national ICCM scheme, introduced in 2006, has raised over £7 million since its inception to help fund bereavement related charities.

Jo Walker, Crematorium Manager, said: “We are delighted to donate this substantial sum of money to St Giles Hospice. All the support they offer is aimed at improving the quality of life of those living with incurable illnesses. With so much of their support being offered in the community it allows people to remain at home during the final stages of their illness. We asked our social media followers to help us make the decision on which local charity to support this year and the overwhelming majority chose St Giles Hospice. So many of them told us about the amazing support that was offered to them when their loved one was ill.

This donation has only been made possible because families, in those very difficult days following the death of a loved one, have made the selfless decision to consent for us to collect the metals following cremation.

We understand this is a sensitive subject and we want to extend our gratitude to those families who have enabled this to happen.  Their consent is vital to the ongoing success of the scheme. We want those families to know that their decision has enabled St Giles Hospice to help other bereaved families.”

Liam Bennett, Assistant Manager, said: “We are mindful of taking every step to reduce the environmental impact of the cremation process. The metal recycling scheme, as well as benefitting local charities, reduces our environment impact as these metals were previously buried on crematorium land and their recycling reduces the need for metal ores to be mined.”

Selina Hughes, Regional Fundraiser, St Giles Hospice, said: “I am delighted to receive this generous donation from Cannock Chase Crematorium. Our heartfelt thanks go to the families who have given their permission for the recycling of metal items, and to the crematorium staff who nominated St Giles Hospice. We are very grateful for this donation it will help us to improve the lives of those families we support.”