Concierge at Old Course Hotel

 Last year the Hotel asked my colleagues and I to vote for the one charity that we wanted to sponsor by focusing all our fundraising efforts on. It was a unanimous decision, CHAS – Children’s Hospice Association Scotland- was to be our charity. Since then we have held a number of events to raise money for such a worthy cause including a number of golf events at The Duke’s and we donated the proceeds from our annual associates’ ball.

 A couple of weeks ago myself and a team of associates had the real honour of visiting Rachel House in Kinross. Rachel House was Scotland’s first children’s hospice when it opened in March 1996. As a purpose-built hospice the team provide ongoing support for up to 200 families across Scotland each year. In their own words CHAS “offers a professional care, practical help and emotional support to the whole family usually from the day of acceptance, to the death of their child and beyond.”

 For one family CHAS created a pretend beach so that their very ill baby, who had never experienced the seaside, could feel what it was like to play in the sand. This is just one example of the many amazing things that CHAS can do to help support a family through a very difficult time.

It is very difficult to put into words what visiting Rachel House was like however it is evident that all the money that we raise is going to a great charity and it is very much appreciated by all the care workers and volunteers involved with CHAS. All the staff we met on the day were very passionate and enthusiastic about all the work they do. Some of the numbers that were mentioned were truly staggering! For example, £10,000 will pay for one of the special bath units and in total a figure of £6 million is needed to run CHAS every year.

 Our visit to Rachel House really did inspire us. We came away with so many ideas of how we can help the charity. Have a look at their website http://www.chas.org.uk/ or sign up to their Facebook and Twitter pages, there are many tips on how you can help raise money. Whether you buy a pack of their Christmas cards or hold a pub quiz at your local, I promise you the money you give will go toward a truly deserving cause.

Our Visit to Rachel House, Kinross. From left - Jenna McCarroll, Alan Martin, Me, Emma Ruth Liston

With warm regards

Ralph