Aberdeen Ladies Lunch raises £57k for children's hospices

LADIES of Aberdeen dug deep to raise an incredible £56,971 for Children's Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS) at the city's annual Ladies Lunch.

Bruce Edmond, guest speaker and CHAS bereaved parent of Jack, event host Michelle McManus, Nicola Edmond, Bruces wife and Jacks mum, Michelle Milne, CHAS key-worker for the Edmonds. Picture: Contribued

Scots singer Michelle McManus hosted the fifth annual event at the city’s Marcliffe Hotel where guests enjoyed a two-course meal and fizz reception, live music from Feeva, fundraising games and the hotly anticipated silent auction.

The live auction, compered by radio broadcaster, Steve McKenna, sent the ladies pulses racing as they bided for prizes such as a Maserati for the weekend, Pittodrie Private Box and a money can’t buy CHAS canvas, donated by the Veitchi Group to Robin House and lovingly decorated by the children using the hospices services.

Guest speaker of the night, Bruce Edmond, made an emotional speech about his two year old son, Jack, who will always be remembered as a happy, playful boy with a beaming smile.

Jack and his family used CHAS at Home and Rachel House in Kinross and credit CHAS for helping them during the most traumatic time possible, to make every moment count for Jack’s short life.

Diane Alton, Events Co-ordinator at CHAS said: “Aberdeen folk are notoriously fantastic supporters of CHAS and always get fully behind our fundraising efforts.

“We’re so grateful for their generosity and without them, we could not raise the vital funds needed to provide these hospice services, which children and families across Scotland rely so heavily on.

“We make sure that no matter how short a family’s time together may be, it is filled with happiness and fun. We keep the joy alive by helping families to celebrate the lives of their children while they are together, and to honour their memory when they are gone.

“Three children die of a life-shortening condition every week in Scotland, and at present, we’re only reaching one of those families. Our ambition is to reach every single one and offer our services and events like the Aberdeen Ladies Lunch are so important in helping us raise awareness of our work.”

CHAS is the only charity in Scotland that provides hospice services for babies, children and young people with life-shortening conditions.

The national charity offers palliative care and respite for the whole family via its two hospices, Rachel House in Kinross and Robin House in Balloch, and via its CHAS at Home service, which supports families in their own homes across the whole of Scotland.