Bereavement charity receives £8,000vement charity receives £8,000

Bereavement charity receives £8,000vement charity receives £8,000

Bath & North East Somerset Council has donated £8000 raised from the recycling of metals reclaimed from Bath’s Haycombe Crematorium to the Widowed and Young (WAY) charity.

WAY provides support and friendship to men and women under the age of fifty when their partner dies.

The charity offers those struggling to come to terms with the trauma of losing a loved one at a young age the opportunity to attend peer to peer support groups run by a network of volunteers, many of whom have been bereaved themselves. They also organise camping trips, weekends away, parties and social activities.

WAY member Lisa Pritchard said: “I so wish I had found WAY earlier in my grief journey, as the support it has given me has been immeasurable. I am hoping this donation and the surrounding publicity can help WAY reach more people. If it puts even only one person who needs it, in contact with the charity, then it is worth it!”

The bereavement charity is the latest to benefit from money raised by the recycling of common items like medical pins, metal plates and artificial joints which are retrieved from the cremated remains of a loved one and recycled through a national scheme.

The not-for-profit Recycling of Metals Scheme is run by the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management of which Bath & North East Somerset Council is a member.

Members of the scheme collect the metal from the cremators and the money raised from recycling is divided between ICCM members for distribution among charities.

Over the past nine months £20,000 has been donated by Haycombe Cemetery and Crematorium to charities across the region.

Councillor Paul Crossley, cabinet member for Community Services, said: “It is good that we’ve been able to support the important work of the Widowed and Young charity. We always respectfully retrieve the cremated remains of a love one, but metal items used as part of surgery are often recovered from the cremator. The most responsible way to dispose of them is to recycle them. We feel it’s only right the money raised goes to support bereavement charities and I hope people who are bereaved take comfort from that.”

To qualify for donations from the scheme, charities are selected on the basis they have to assist the bereaved or those who are terminally ill.

Any local charities, which meet the criteria can get in touch with staff at Haycombe Cemetery and Crematorium on 01225 396020 or email cemeteries_crematorium@bathnes.gov.uk

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