On a mission to raise £350,000 to support families in need, we are extending our charity partnership with Children’s Hospices Across Scotland, better known as CHAS, until August 2022.
The announcement comes during Children’s Hospice Week (21 – 27 June), a week dedicated to raising awareness and funds for children’s hospice and palliative care services across the UK, and the seriously ill children and young people they support.
The decision reflects our ambitions to provide the very best support to the charity, following a year of unprecedented restrictions and limited opportunities to fundraise, as well as engage with local communities and get them involved. It also means that we will be able to support CHAS as it reaches its 30th anniversary milestone next year.
Over the course of the partnership, we aim to raise £350,000 for CHAS along with three other children’s hospices: Jigsaw Children’s Hospice in Cumbria, Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice and St Oswald’s Hospice in Newcastle upon Tyne.
Staff working in Scotmid’s food stores, Semichem stores, Scotmid Funerals and Lakes & Dales stores across Scotland, Northern Ireland and Northern England will be coming together to continue raising vital funds to support the charities.
For nearly thirty years, CHAS has been offering full family support service for babies, children and young people with life-shortening conditions. Each week, three children die from an incurable condition in Scotland, and the need for CHAS’ services on the rise. There are currently more than 16,700 families across Scotland living with the constant fear and heartbreak that their child might die young.
Nicky Bridges, CHAS Associate Director of Outreach, said: “Although this past year has been incredibly challenging for everyone, CHAS could not be prouder of the efforts made by Scotmid staff and customers to raise as many funds as possible. We are so grateful to Scotmid who has helped CHAS reach families across Scotland, even those in the most remote parts, and enabled us to provide essential care and respite in the comfort of their own homes.
“Having just taken up the post as Associate Director of Outreach at CHAS, the development of this service couldn’t be more important to me and the funds raised through this partnership will help us to expand our CHAS at Home service; getting us one step closer to achieving our ambitious mission of reaching every child and family in Scotland that needs our help.”
Our decision to extend the partnership will enable CHAS and the other children’s hospices to continue to support families during some of the most difficult times. Funds will be directed by CHAS towards the expansion and development of its vital CHAS at Home service, which is dedicated to ensuring that no-one has to face the death of their child alone.
CHAS at Home teams provide all the essential care that families would experience in a hospice from the comfort and safety of their own home. This can include everything from nursing care, respite, physiotherapy, fun activities and, most importantly, the emotional support families need to create wonderful memories with their children.
Shirley McGillivray, Scotmid Head of Membership and Community, said: “Scotmid has been working at the heart of the communities it serves since we were founded more than 160 years ago.
“We are thrilled to announce the extension of our partnership with CHAS which will allow us to continue providing vital support to families as they face the challenge of having a child with a life-shortening condition. We look forward to celebrating CHAS’s 30th anniversary next year, which demonstrates their long-standing commitment to supporting families in Scotland.
“I would like to thank the staff and customers in our stores for their generosity in the donations they have made so far to such a worthwhile cause. With so many staff being parents or carers themselves, the support we can provide to these charities resonates deeply and I know everyone will be getting behind our fundraising efforts to make sure we hit our target and make a real difference to as many lives as we can.”