Picture: Rebecca Addison, Trust Fundraiser at CHAS (left) and George McLean, Fuze Brand Ambassador (right)
Tell us a little bit about your role in CHAS?
As Trust Fundraiser, I focus on raising funding from Charitable Trusts and Foundations. My role involves identifying Trusts and Foundations whose giving aims align with the incredible and life-changing work CHAS does and researching the ways in which these organisations may be able to support CHAS’ work. I spend a lot of time completing and submitting funding applications and, my favourite part, thanking the people who are connected to the Trusts and Foundations for their support. I also love to keep our funders up to date on what we have been doing at CHAS, often in the form of funding reports.
Can you start by telling us about your wonderful charity and the great work that you do?
Children’s Hospices Across Scotland – better known as CHAS – is proud to be the national provider of children’s hospice services in Scotland. CHAS staff and our dedicated volunteer force make a difference by offering integrated palliative and end of life care and respite for the whole family. We do this through our two hospices, Rachel House in Kinross and Robin House in Balloch; our CHAS at Home service which supports families in their own homes; and our specialist teams who now work in every children’s hospital across the whole of Scotland.
How has the pandemic impacted CHAS over the past two years?
The pandemic has had an enormous impact on how we work. Almost overnight, our care teams had to alter how they supported children and families. Our teams supported more families in their own homes throughout the pandemic and we launched our Virtual Hospice which allowed families to access everything from clinical advice which they could trust in a time of great uncertainty to children’s therapeutic play activities and sibling support groups, all in an online setting. One mum commented: “CHAS has been amazing this past year. The team’s attitude is very much “how can we do that?” rather than ‘we can’t do that.’ They’ve not let a global pandemic stand in their way!”
What does it mean for CHAS to have support from The Fuze Foundation over the next 12 months?
“We are absolutely delighted to have been chosen to be one of The Fuze Foundation’s charities this year. Here at CHAS, we believe that no family should face the death of their child alone and this support helps us to reach more families across Scotland. 2022 is CHAS’ 30th year, and we thank everyone at The Fuze Foundation for sharing your tenth year of fundraising with us”.
What exciting plans do you have at CHAS this year to celebrate 30 years of supporting the community?
We plan to inspire our supporters to continue to do what they do best and help us to be here for another thirty years, for as long as children and their families need us.
Where do you see collaborations with The Fuze Foundation aside from financial and fundraising help?
We really are thrilled to have the support of The Fuze Foundation this year. After speaking with George, Fuze’s Brand Ambassador, we hope to identify ways in which everyone at Fuze can get involved in supporting CHAS over the next year, everything from talks to volunteering to providing emotional support and anything in between. In particular a few ideas from CHAS’s 30 Ideas for 30 Years list stood out such as; Take it up for 30 – take up something new over the next 30 weeks; Bake 30 cakes and sell them to friends, family and colleagues and raffle off 30 items over 30 days and raise as much money as you can!
