St Giles Hospice is urging people to beat the backlog following postal strikes and use its network of shops to get in touch.

The charity, which cares for local people living with cancer and other serious illnesses, will use its 14 shops as collection points in the run-up to its ‘Light up a Life’ services in December.

St Giles had asked those wishing to remember the lives of loved ones to return their forms by post – but with some people still experiencing delays to their mail deliveries, people can now register by returning their form to any St Giles shop.

Peter Holliday, Chief Executive of St Giles says: “We don’t want anyone to miss the opportunity to have their loved one’s name recorded in the Book of Remembrance for our Light up a Life services.

“By bringing completed forms in a hospice envelope or an envelope clearly marked ‘Light up a Life’ to our shops, we can ensure their names are included and a light lit for them on our special trees during the services in Lichfield, Cannock, Burton upon Trent and Sutton Coldfield.”

Hospice supporters can also hand their tickets and payment for the St Giles Big Bonanza Draw to the charity’s shops in an envelope marked ‘Big Bonanza Draw’. Tickets taken to any of the hospice shops by 3rd December will be guaranteed a place in the draw on 17th December which has a top prize of £4,000.

Light up a Life services will be held at the Coors Visitors Centre, Burton and St Luke's Church, Cannock on Sunday 2nd December at 6pm, and at Four Oaks Methodist Church, Sutton Coldfield and Lichfield Cathedral on Sunday 9th December at 6.30pm and 6pm respectively.

St Giles Hospice Shops are located as follows:

ATHERSTONE
111 Long Street (bookshop)

ALDRIDGE
35 The Square

BURTON UPON TRENT
192 Station Street

CANNOCK
2 Wolverhampton Road

LICHFIELD
17 Tamworth Street

RUGELEY
4 Upper Brook Street

SUTTON COLDFIELD
406 Birmingham Road, Wylde Green

39 Walmley Road, Walmley

300 Lichfield Road, Mere Green

284a Lichfield Road, Mere Green

28 Boldmere Road, Boldmere

SWADLINCOTE
8 Midland Road

TAMWORTH
7 Little Church Lane

WALSALL
11 The Victorian Arcade


St Giles Hospice is a registered charity offering high-quality medical and nursing care for people with cancer and other serious illnesses, as well as providing support for their families and carers.


Patients come from across the hospice’s catchment area, which ranges from Ashby de la Zouch in the east, to Cannock and Walsall in the west – and from Burton and Uttoxeter in the north, to Sutton Coldfield and Coleshill in the south.

Care is offered at the hospice's facilities in Sutton Coldfield and Whittington between Lichfield and Tamworth, or in patients' own homes across the region.

St Giles spends over £5million every year providing its specialist services. With just a third of this funded by the Government, the registered charity relies heavily on donations and fundraising – including the proceeds from the ‘Light up a Life’ services and the Big Bonanza Draw.