Inverness McDonald’s franchisee funds new Child Bereavement Service
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A local McDonald’s franchisee has donated £40,000 to The Archie Foundation in order to help bereaved children and their families.
Craig Duncan, has been able to provide the generous donation through the carrier bag charge scheme which came into force in 2014.
“I have supported The Archie Foundation since the start of my McDonald’s journey, and I’m delighted to be able to make a difference to children in the Highlands who are going through
unimaginably difficult times,” says Mr Duncan, who owns nine restaurants in the Highlands and Grampian.
“While we are required to charge customers for disposable bags, it’s important that people know that we have decided to give every single penny of that money to charity.”
The full donation has been ringfenced to fund three years of the Archie Child Bereavement Service, which expanded to the Highlands earlier this year.
A spokesperson for the charity has described the donation as “life changing” as it will allow them to offer free support to children dealing with the death of a loved one, from providing books to carefully tailored support to suit individual families.
Speaking on the donation, Mary Nimo, trustee and chair of The Archie Foundation’s Highland Fundraising Board, and senior partner at Munro & Noble Solicitors, said: “During these very
difficult times following the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis, I was absolutely stunned by the generosity of Craig Duncan.
"I actually thought Craig said 40 pounds not 40 thousand pounds! A donation such as this is life-changing for many of the children and their families here in the Highlands and Islands.
"This donation has gone, in its entirety, towards funding three years of the Highland Archie Child bereavement service.”
A carrier bag charge came into force in Scotland in 2014, stating that all retailers must charge a minimum of 10p for each single use bag. Under the law, the money belongs to the individual business, although the Scottish Government says it is “keen to see this money go to good causes.”
