Gedling Crematorium goes the eggstra mile

Gedling Crematorium, near Nottingham, has collected more than 700 Easter eggs which will be donated to children in local hospitals and hospices as well as local care homes.

It took just over a month for the crematorium to collect all the eggs, many of which were provided by local funeral director Michele Mills from M.A Mills Funeral Services, who got them from local people in the Radcliffe area.

The others came from other funeral directors (Dignity, C Terry’s, A W Lymn), the crematorium’s own staff, Oakfield Construction Company, local people and celebrants in the Gedling area and Morrisons in Netherfield.

Gedling Crematorium is part of Westerleigh Group, the UK’s largest independent owners and operators of crematoria and cemeteries, with 37 sites in England, Scotland and Wales, all set within beautifully-landscaped gardens of remembrance which provide pleasant, peaceful places for people to visit and reflect.

Giulia McDonough, site manager of Gedling Crematorium, said: “This is the first time we decided to collect Easter eggs in an attempt to help spread some Easter cheer in our community, and we only expected to get about 50.”

“Michele provided 544 of them, which was amazing.”

Michele had committed herself to taking part in the ‘100 Miles for MIND’ fund-raising initiative in March, to generate funds for the charity which supports people who are experiencing mental health issues.

Giulia said: “Michele asked if she could do the last 12 miles of her 100 by walking from her office in Radcliffe to Gedling Crematorium.

“I asked if I could walk with her, and she said yes. The next day, after having so much interest in the egg collection, we decided to combine the two events, so we ended up doing the 12 miles dressed as Easter bunnies.

“Michele smashed her target of raising over £1,000 for MIND, and we ended up with hundreds more eggs than we were expecting, which we are delighted with.

“I would like to thank everyone who generously donated Easter eggs to our collection. We are now distributing them throughout the area.”