Children's charity The Archie Foundation Highland celebrates ten-year anniversary

The Highland branch of The Archie Foundation is looking for stories from families they have supported over the last decade to help them celebrate their ten-year anniversary.

The Highland Children's Unit at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness which The Archie Foundation Highland funded and built between 2011 and 2016.

The Archie Foundation, a charity that offers extra support to sick children in hospital, first came to the Highlands in March 2011 to refurbish the children's ward at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness, with the aim of making it a more practical and welcoming environment for the families spending so much time there.

Since then, they have grown to become an incredible support network across the Highland region for children, and their families, who find themselves in and out of hospital on a regular basis.

As they celebrate ten years, Regional Fundraising Officer at Archie Highland, Dawn Cowie, has said that the charity wants to reinforce the message of what they do and why.

The Highland Fundraising Board outside the Highland Children's Unit, along with Dawn Cowie, third from the right. The board have assisted in projects such as the Archie Fresh Air Project, transforming the outdoor space at the unit from a "concrete jungle" into a fun green space suitable for children.

Speaking to the Scotsman, she said: “We want to share the stories of how we have helped people in the past and hear what we have actually achieved.

"Some people think that we were just there to build a children’s unit but really we’re so much more than that.

"We support staff with training, parents with the cost of accommodation, we help the play department give out toys to the kids.

"We give support in so many different ways.”

'Nessie' outside the Highland Children's Unit at Raigmore Hospital, Inverness.

Each month for the rest of 2021, to celebrate the ten-year milestone, the charity will be suggesting an activity that supporters can get involved with at home, kicking off with “Marathon March”.

People are encouraged to run or walk a mile every day in March while gathering sponsorship to help the charity continue to offer support during the pandemic.

Ms Cowie has said that they also hope to be able to share at least one personal story each month from a family who have benefited from the work The Archie Foundation has done since launching in the Highlands.

As they get most of their revenue through fundraisers, the coronavirus pandemic has hit the charity hard.

One of the rooms in the Highland Children's Unit. Increasing the number of single rooms available means more families can stay with their children while they are in hospital.

They have had to rethink and plan other ways of raising money to continue offering their support.

Ms Cowie said: “We haven’t been around for as long as more established Highland charities so we’re still building our network of supporters that aren’t linked to events.

"At the moment we’re relying on things like collection cans, online raffles, virtual events etc…”

Ms Cowie has worked for the foundation since 2016, and was a volunteer for the two years previous to that.

Growing up in Helmsdale, Sutherland, and having spent a significant amount of time in hospitals herself while growing up, she said that she knows how valuable the work is and how vital it is within rural communities.

She continued: "I have seen a lot of the work that the charity has done from this side, but also from the patient perspective.

"I can appreciate first-hand the help that The Archie Foundation gives children from the Highlands who maybe have to go further afield to get care, even if it’s a hospital in Glasgow or Edinburgh, if the family is Highland based we will still support them through the tough times, no matter what.”

To stay up to date with their 2021 celebrations, or to support the charity, you can follow their Facebook page here.

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