Youngsters donate £10,000 of pocket money to war vets

The youngsters are part of the congregation at Blackhall St Columba's Church, in Queensferry Road, who have raised 10,000 for charity in the last six months.

While much of the money came from more traditional fundraising events, the final total was hit thanks to the help of some junior members.

Encouraging everyone to play their part, the children at the church were asked to bring along their spare pennies to help the appeal, and the request saw the youngsters donate hundreds of pounds in total.

The money was presented to the Erskine Home Edinburgh yesterday.

Reverend Alexander Douglas said the generosity of the children and everyone else at the Church was an inspiration.

"It is amazing that we have raised so much in just six months, especially in the middle of a recession," he said.

"The youngsters were very generous – we asked them to bring along their pennies, and we had someone dressed up as a soldier, with a drum for them to put the money in, and that helped to encourage them."

The appeal was set up by the Watch (Working All Together Caring and Helping) Committee, set up in 1991 to raise awareness of local charities.

Over the past 19 years the committee has helped to raise more than 150,000 for various causes including Capability Scotland, Cystic Fibrosis, Down's Syndrome, Motor Neurone Disease, Parkinson's Disease and the Rock Trust.

This year they opted to support the Erskine Edinburgh Home, with the money set to go towards the specialist care of ex-Service men and women in the Edinburgh and East of Scotland area.

Rev Douglas said: "Since the Watch Committee was set up we have supported a lot of different charities, but this year we felt it was important to do something for the troops that have been injured in battle."

Erskine recently opened an 8.6 million extension to the Edinburgh home, which has almost doubled the number of veterans receiving nursing and medical care.

The newly-expanded building is also home to the UK's first Army Recovery Centre, which is a partnership between Erskine, the Army and Help for Heroes to help meet an identified gap in the care of wounded and injured soldiers returning from current conflicts.

John Fyfe, Erskine's Edinburgh fundraiser, said: "As young men and women are putting their lives on the line for our country this valuable contribution from the congregation could not come at a more important time. It will go a long way in ensuring that the ex-Service men and women at the Erskine Edinburgh Home receive the highest standard of care they so richly deserve."