Up, up and away: North Pole here we come – virtually!
St Columba’s Hospice is taking its fundraising to the skies with an environmentally friendly balloon race. The Hospice is organising a race in which balloons will fly all the way to the North Pole! Continue reading The sky’s the limit for St Columba’s Hospice!
Penumbra Milestone wins innovation award
An Edinburgh service for people with Alcohol Related Brain Damage (ARBD) has been recognised for its innovative approach at this year’s Scottish Health Awards, held in the capital this week. Continue reading Milestone reached as Penumbra wins health award
It’s our Christmas Fair today from 10am-4pm, we would be delighted if you could join us!
It’s the perfect opportunity to get a head-start on buying gifts for friends and family, and maybe a treat for yourself too! We are so pleased to welcome some excellent designer-makers to the Fair, all listed in the picture (above)!
Saturday 7 November 10am – 4pm
Charlotte Square’s Roxburghe Hotel will play its part in Cash for Kids Mission Christmas this year – as a local toy drop-off point.
Radio Forth presenter Mark Martin (pictured above with porter Jamie Wood), paid a visit to the hotel yesterday to deliver its Mission Christmas donation box and meet the Roxburghe team.
As part of Cash for Kids Mission Christmas, locals are being asked to buy one extra gift to be given to a disadvantaged child or young person on Christmas morning.
Marcello Ventisei, general manager of The Roxburghe Hotel, said: “We’re delighted to play our part for such a great cause. It’s such a simple but effective way of making sure that children and young people living in more difficult circumstances still wake up to a gift on Christmas day. We would encourage anyone passing the hotel, staying with us or attending our Christmas party nights to donate a gift no matter how small.”
New, unwrapped gifts suitable for those aged 0 to 18 can be dropped off at The Roxburghe Hotel’s reception from anytime between now and 14 December.
Any other local businesses who wish to sign up as Cash for Kids Mission Christmas drop-off points have until 23 November to do so. Contact emma.kemp@radioforth.com for further information.
Pictures: Sandy Young
Grim New Year: charity’s tenants fight Lorne Street eviction
A social media campaign and local politicians are supporting a petition to save over 100 families from eviction after a charity put their Lorne Street homes up for sale. Tenants have set up Lorne Community Association (LCA) and hope to transfer their houses into a new community-run housing co-operative – but they have only THREE MONTHS to prove their plan stacks up.
The Agnes Hunter Trust says the sale of the Leith homes is a more effective way of maintaining income that can then be given out as grants to the local community.
The trust was set up in 1954 by Miss Agnes Hunter with the properties built by her father in the 1870s and they have since been let by the Hunter family to the people of Leith. The properties and the rental income received are then used by the Hunter Trust to support good works and worthy causes in the Leith community and beyond – these include support for people suffering from arthritis and other health conditions and ‘assistance with the education and training of disadvantaged people’.
Two hundred tenants have been issued letters of four months statutory notice to quit and find alternative rented accommodation, but campaigners have appealed for a year to turn the homes into a local community-run housing co-operative.
Petitioner Melanie Weigang said: “Over 200 tenants in Lorne Street, Leith are facing eviction. We ask that City of Edinburgh Council does everything possible within its powers, including financial support, to support the tenants to save the community and to set up a housing co-op.”
The Trust has confirmed it will resume the process of evicting tenants in January if the trustees cannot be persuaded that the LCA can buy the flats at market rates.
The first evictees will be those who have lived in a property for less than four years.
Many of the old tenement properties are understood to be in a poor state and require modernisation, but tenant Lucy Dey said she and many others have nowhere else to go. She said: “We’re not asking for much – just a year. By then we’re confident we’d have a co-op and the homes will remain in the community.”
The LCA petition to the City of Edinburgh Council says:
Over 200 tenants in Lorne Street, Leith are facing eviction by the Agnes Hunter Trust, a charitable trust that owns over 100 flats in Lorne Street. The trust was established in 1954 by Miss Agnes Hunter. The properties were built by her father in the 1870ties and since then have been let by the Hunter family to the people of Leith. Miss Hunter herself lived for many years in Leith until she died in 1954.
The properties and the income received from its tenants have always built the core of the charity. The trust informed all tenants on 11 June 2015 that it decided to dispose all of its properties within 3-4 years to re-invest the income from the sale of the properties and with a view to increasing the amount available for distribution to charities.
The tenants with the support from MP Deidre Brock, MSP Malcolm Chisholm, Councillors Nick Gardner, Angela Blacklock and Cammy Day asked the trustees to put the evictions on hold for 12 months in order to set up a housing co-op with the support of the council but that request was denied and only a 4 months period was granted which will only be extended if we can agree with the landlord on a valuation basis for the property portfolio by then.
We kindly ask that the City of Edinburgh Council does everything possible within its powers, including financial support, to support the tenants to save the community and to set up a housing co-op.
As word spreads about their plight LCA’s organisers are confident that more and more people will support their plan – they delighted with response to their petition so far.
This year’s Hummingbird Ball in aid of Diabetes UK marks 15 years of successful fundraising in the Scottish capital at the event on Saturday 7 November.
Organised by a group of local Diabetes UK volunteers, the Ball has raised over £300,000 for research projects since the inaugural event in 2001. Diabetes UK is the leading charitable funder of diabetes research which increases understanding of the causes of diabetes, brings about life-changing breakthroughs in care, treatment, prevention and, one day, a cure.
Craig Cameron, one of the event organisers, said: “When we arranged the first Hummingbird Ball in 2001 we thought it would be a one off event. No one could have imagined in those early days that we would reach 15 years and raise in excess of £300,000. We are so grateful to everyone who has supported this incredible achievement.”
The 15th Hummingbird Ball takes place at Sheraton Grand Hotel and Spa in Edinburgh on the evening of Saturday 7 November 2015. A five star black tie event hosted by master of ceremonies, Grant Stott, guests are invited to enjoy a lavish dinner with fabulous entertainment, charity auctions and raffles.
Auction items up for grabs include an evening at the ATP Tennis Finals as well as a weekend hire of a Harley Davidson motorbike. The organising committee is keen to hear from any individuals or companies who wish to donate auction or raffle prizes.
Craig added: “The Hummingbird Ball is a fantastic night that’s enjoyed by all. We have already sold many tickets but there are still some available if people would like to join us. Diabetes is a major health issue which affects over 276,000 people across Scotland including over 37,700 in Lothian. Diabetes UK is leading the way in cutting edge research, including some ground-breaking projects across Scotland, which will have a positive impact on the lives of people affected by the condition.”
Jane-Claire Judson, National Director of Diabetes Scotland, said: “The success of the Hummingbird Ball over the past 15 years is truly amazing given that the event is organised entirely by volunteers. Over £300,000 raised through the event is testament to the volunteers’ commitment to funding Diabetes UK research in Scotland. It’s a fantastic achievement and we’re truly grateful.”
Tickets for the event, priced at £90 each, are not cheap but for those who can afford to support a very worthy cause tickets can be purchased by contacting Diabetes Scotland office on 0141 245 6380 or email scotlandfundraising@diabetes.org.uk. Prizes can also be donated in this way.
Move On is a charity based at the top of Leith Walk, and we work with vulnerable young people and those affected by homelessness. We are urgently looking for outgoing volunteer mentors for our next training course.
Our mentors are drawn from all walks of life and undergo a thorough recruitment, training and induction process, involving taking up references, a mandatory 4 week training course and membership of the PVG (Protection of Vulnerable Groups) scheme.
Our mentoring service matches young people (including those who are; looked after, attending SEBD schools, lacking confidence, socially isolated, offending, engaged in risk taking behaviour, misusing substances etc.) with a volunteer mentor.
Our next training course begins on the 21st of November. Anyone who is interested in this opportunity can find out more information by contacting myself at rebecca@moveon.org.uk or by calling the office on 0131 558 3740.
Cyrenians launch TELL YOUR STORY campaign
More than a quarter of Scots believe poverty is a result of laziness according to a new poll published by a Scottish charity seeking to challenge public perceptions of those in need.
The poll, commissioned by Cyrenians as part of their newly-launched “Tell Your Story” campaign aimed at changing public perceptions of those living in poverty, found that 28% believed poverty was a result of laziness on the part of those living in poverty. 24% believed a lack of willpower was another contributory factor to people living in poverty
The study found that the majority of Scots think that unemployment (76%), addiction (59%) and family circumstances (56%) are main causes of poverty.
Scottish people believe early intervention and working with those most at risk, along with providing more jobs, are the best ways to reduce poverty, with only a tiny minority backing reductions in benefits.
The poll found that Scots believed providing jobs (59%), working with families at risk of poverty (58%), early intervention (53%) and providing education (51%) were the best ways the Government should help those living in poverty in Scotland; with only a tiny minority (6%) believing cutting benefits would do so.
In order to tackle poverty, Cyrenians aim over the next five years to increase the number of people they support annually from 4400 to 6000 people in a major expansion of their work in Scotland as they respond to a rise in demand from those who feel excluded from family, home, work or community. These interventions include:
The leaders of Scotland’s five main political parties, along with major celebrities such as Irvine Welsh, Mark Greenaway, Brian Cox, Grant Stott, Bill Paterson and Mark Cousins have backed Cyrenians call for people to tell their own personal story to remind us that everyone has a past, a present and a future. Cyrenians aim is to shine a light on the different ways anyone can find themselves in poverty in order to change public perceptions of those in need.
To encourage others to tell their story, Cyrenians has published a series of case studies of people they have worked with and who, for a variety of reasons, have been excluded and fallen in to different types of poverty, only to turn their lives around with help from the innovative work of the charity.
Announcing the expansion at an event with award-winning TV chef, Mark Greenaway, at Cyrenians Good Food depot in Edinburgh, Cyrenians Chief Executive Ewan Aitken, said: “The Scottish public clearly believe that the type of support provided by Cyrenians, such as working with people in danger of becoming excluded from their family or home at an early stage and working with those most at risk, are the best ways to reduce poverty rather than blunt financial instruments or stigmatising language. We want to build on that and challenge any perception amongst the public that those in poverty are only there through laziness or lack of willpower.
“Politicians, along with the rest of society, must stand-up and tackle the causes of poverty and change public perceptions. To do that we must work to prevent people from feeling excluded from family, home, work or the wider community. Through our own stories and those of people we support, as well as they services we provide, we can achieve that change.
“We should remember that we all have a past, a present and a future, so we are urging people to come forward and, please: TELL YOUR STORY.”
Forth Bridge abseil raises over £1300
On Sunday 18 October, six colleagues from Sainsburys Blackhall took part in the Forth Rail Bridge abseil to raise funds for Meningitis Research Foundation (writes Gail Wilson).
We were the second group of the day to abseil and the weather was dry, calm and sunny. The view from the top of the Bridge was amazing and we all had a fantastic experience!
So far we have raised over £1,300 for Meningitis by doing our abseil and hope more funds will come in!
The intrepid abseilers were Chris Letham, Christy Dickson, Fiona Forrest, Gail Wilson, George Paton and Katie White
