Volunteers raise £40,000 through Telford Tree of Light

With a new design and a new location, the Tree of Light has seen more than 5,000 lost loved ones remembered this year.

It is the 24th year that the event has been held, and now organisers will begin to look towards next year’s landmark tree of light.

In February, the £40,000 will be given to vital charities in and around Telford. These will include Severn Hospice, Hope House Hospice, Maninplace, Climbing Out, Riding for the Disabled and Telford Samaritans.

Peter Seaward, chairman of the Tree of Light committee and Wellington Rotary Club, said he was proud to have been involved.

“We’re very pleased with the new display,” he said.

“The other one was so old and unsafe.

“We’re extremely grateful for the businesses that have supported us.

“Hopefully with the rising population we can get better next year, which is our 25th year. We want to get involved with a new generation.

Moving

“When you sit around the tree, you can see how much it means to people, seeing all the names there. It’s quite moving to help people with their remembrances.”

It still costs only £5 to put a name on the Tree of Light, the same price it has been for nearly two-and-a-half decades.

It means that the money raised is worth less than it was 20 years ago.

But organisers of the annual event are hoping to make a big splash in 2020.

The Tree of Light is run entirely by volunteers. About 12 people are involved in the committee, and a further 40 volunteer next to the tree itself.

“We’d like to make an impact next year,” Mr Seaward said.

“There’s this public perception that we’re in an office, a commercial organisation, but we’re all volunteers.

“People now come to us for advice about how to set up a Tree of Light. They come from as far away as Australia and America. The word is spreading out from our early days.

“My grateful thanks to volunteers involved, and to the people around Telford who continue to donate and the new people who I hope will continue to donate next year.”

The sixth batch of names has been released by the Rotary clubs which run the Tree of Light.