Boys brigade kick off appeal
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
MEMBERS of the 1st Culloden Boys’ Brigade have become the first donors to an ambitious £1 million fund-raising appeal for a new children’s ward at Raigmore Hospital.
The 45-strong company raised £150 from a beetle drive attended by family and friends.
They decided the proceeds should go to the appeal launched by the ARCHIE Foundation, an Aberdeen-based charity, and supported by The Inverness Courier, to transform the existing department into a world-class centre for sick children. The work will involve a radical redesign to create a child-centred and family-friendly environment, improved facilities and new equipment.
Boys’ Brigade leader Ann McDonald explained the event was organised as part of the boys’ community badge work and, having heard about the appeal launch, they wanted to help kick-start it. “It is nice for children to be raising money for children,” she said.
Mrs McDonald has personal experience of the ward as her grand-daughter, 15-month-old Ailsa McAra, has been admitted twice. “I had to admit I sat in the ward and thought how sad and tired it looked,” she said. “It didn’t feel homely or family-friendly. The staff are so kind and co-operative but they just don’t have the facilities.”
1st Culloden Boys Brigade members (left to right) Matthew Black, Joe and Neil Forbes, Hamish MacIntosh and Johnathon Friend were among the brigaders who helped raise £150 for the appeal by organising a beetle drive.
The appeal was launched at a signing ceremony at the hospital on Friday when NHS Highland officially authorised the ARCHIE Foundation to raise funds for the children’s ward.
About 150 people, including community and business leaders, attended an event afterwards at the Drumossie Hotel. The speakers were Courier editor Robert Taylor, Tulloch Homes chief executive David Sutherland, Professor George Youngson and consultant paediatrician Dr Deborah Shanks.
“We would see this project from the ARCHIE Foundation as doing what we have not been able to do,” said Dr Shanks. “We have had a vision but not had the time, or people, or finance to remodel the whole ward to make it more family friendly and more efficient.”
* If you are staging a fund-raising event for the Children’s Ward Appeal, contact us and we will let everyone know. Telephone the newsdesk on 01463 233059, or e-mail editorial@inverness-courier.co.uk
