Inverness Taxis pulling out all the stops for Highland Action for Little Ones (HALO)
An Inverness taxi firm is pulling out all the stops to help a Highland grassroots charity make a difference for Highland families this Christmas and beyond.
Inverness Taxis’ drivers and office staff have donated to HALO, Highland Action for Little Ones, instead of taking part in their annual Secret Santa. The firm’s owner Gavin Johnston rounded up those donations to £2222.22 - the taxi company’s phone number.
Alongside taxi drivers Jim Murray and Helen Hutchison, Gavin was delighted to present a cheque to HALO founder Mel Thomson, and volunteer from Highland Business Women, Iris Thompson-Burton.
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“We were blown away when we heard about what Mel does here,” Gavin said. “We like to give back to the community, so the drivers donate clothes and items that their children have outgrown, and of course, there's this financial donation as well.”
A taxi driver for 32 years, Jim was happy to donate some of his recent earnings, saying: “I can't tell you how much joy and pleasure it gives me to be able to give financially, to contribute to an amazing organisation like this. I'm only beginning this journey with the folks here, but already I'm thinking ‘wow’ I’d like to help a bit more.”
The cash donation from Inverness Taxis will help HALO to purchase some of the items they have been asked for but don’t have in stock, like winter boots, warm coats, and clothes for teenagers. But cash is only part of the support Inverness Taxis offers the charity, after becoming aware of them as a result of their sponsorship of last summer’s Highland Business Women’s Awards.
HALO was set up by Mel and her daughters Ashley and Lauren two years ago, after they saw a Facebook plea from a woman wanting to borrow a tin of formula milk for her baby. They contacted the woman, bought some formula, nappies, wipes and toiletries, and dropped it off.
Realising from her work in child protection that there were others in a similar situation, Mel needed to do more. A Facebook page was set up asking for donations of pre-loved baby and children’s clothing, and, as Mel says: “We have never looked back!
“We moved the operation from our garage at home into premises on Seafield Road in September 2023, and by Christmas we’ll have handed out our 2500th care package,” she explains.
With requests for help coming in from Women’s Aid, social workers, child health workers and schools, HALO deliver clothes, shoes, books, hand-made quilts, and baby equipment for anyone under the age of 18, right across the Highlands.
And that delivery aspect is where Inverness Taxis’ practical support comes in. Taxi driver Helen Hutcheson has been delivering care packages to families in need. That collaboration will continue all year round, supplementing regular deliveries made by Mel’s husband Bill.
“I’m driving around the Highlands all the time and while I’m usually carrying people, it’s a real pleasure for me to deliver care packages for HALO too,” Helen said. “When I understood what they are achieving for the community, I thought: ‘I can help with that!’ It’s not a big deal for me.”
And that seems to be the essence of HALO’s success. Mel, back to her volunteer role at the helm of HALO after surgery and treatment for breast cancer this summer, said: “It’s a whole lot of people doing what they each think is ‘not a big deal’ that adds up to a huge deal for the people and families that HALO supports.”
Although she has been publicly recognised for founding HALO, Mel is adamant that she just plays a small part in its success.
“This is not a one-woman show. Definitely not,” she said. “We need the community to make it happen, and oh, boy, have they made it happen over the last two years. Gavin, Helen and Jim at Inverness Taxis, and the team at Highland Business Women have been a huge part of that. This is the Highlands doing it for the Highlands. I’m so proud to be part of that.”