More than 14,000 donations made in memory of loved ones
Just under £700,000 was donated to more than 450 charities in 2022 thanks to people donating in memory of their loved ones.
The donations were made via a free online memorials feature offered by several funeral care homes Berkshire and Surrey.
The two Berkshire and Surrey causes to receive the most donations were Phyllis Tuckwell, which cares for terminally ill people and their families throughout West Surrey and part of North East Hampshire, and Thames Hospice which provides hospice care for people in Berkshire and South Buckinghamshire.
A total of 642 donations were made to Phyllis Tuckwell totalling £32,603, and a total of 226 donations were made to Thames Hospice totalling £11,400.
Claire McGinty, Client Experience and Aftercare Manager at Southern Co-op, said: “Each and every one of these donations is thanks to an individual who is grieving for a loved one. This is an incredibly generous thing to do and will clearly make a significant difference to all the causes who have benefitted.
“This is possibly even more touching at the moment when a lot of charities are struggling and need all the support they can get. Thank you to all those who donated.”
Other Berkshire and Surrey charities to benefit included Samaritans of Bracknell, Wokingham, Ascot and Districts, South Central Ambulance Charity, Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex, and Frimley Health Charity.
The donations were made by people via Camberley and District Funeral Directors, Howe and Son Funeral Directors in Newbury, J B Hall Funeral Directors in Wokingham, Lines Bannister Funeral Directors in Ascot, The Co-operative Funeralcare in Ash Vale, The Co-operative Funeralcare in Bracknell, and The Co-operative Funeralcare in Frimley Green.
Alice Garratt, In Memory & Legacy Fundraiser at Thames Hospice, said: “A dedicated online tribute page can offer great comfort for friends and families to remember and honour a loved one, and fundraising in their memory makes such a difference to support our work.
“We are incredibly grateful to all the families who chose to set up an online tribute page in aid of Thames Hospice last year and a special thanks to Southern Co-op who facilitated tributes which have raised £11,400. This could pay for 253 hours of counselling time, which is six 1 hour sessions for 42 people.”
Over the last three years, a total of £2,082,095 was donated by families via the free online tribute service offered by 62 funeral homes across the south of England. The platform, supplied by MuchLoved, enables donations to any UK registered charity with no subscription fee which means many small charities can receive vital funding thanks to the generosity of your communities choosing to donate in memory of their loved ones.