Two Tayside children’s charities have received hundreds of pounds thanks to the generosity of around 50 Dundee fire station staff.
Staff at the MacAlpine Road Fire Station collect money for their Christmas party each year and to provide gifts for their children.
Covid restrictions meant crews did not hold a party this year.
But they wanted to put the money to good use so they donated it to Help for Kids and Tayside Children with Cancer and Leukaemia (TCCL).
The charities received £400 each, a welcome donation during the particularly challenging times brought on by the pandemic.
Supporting local families
Staff at the fire station decided they wanted to support charities which help local families.
Gavin Brown of MacAlpine Road Fire Station said: “Over the course of the year everyone at the fire station – around 50 of us – contributes money towards a Christmas party for the children of personnel at the station.
“Unfortunately, we were unable to do this recently but felt we should make the best use of these funds.
“We chose Help for Kids and TCCL as they are excellent charities which support disadvantaged children and families, or those affected by cancer and leukaemia, in our local area.
“We have been made aware of the fantastic work which Help for Kids does through the fundraising efforts of our Dundee operations control colleague, Andrew Annand-Southward.
“The equally valuable efforts of TCCL were highlighted by one of our operational crew members who was impressed by the support given to family friends when they were unfortunately affected by their child’s ill health.”
How will the funds be used?
For the charities, the funding will enable them to continue their vital work.
TCCL says it will allow them to provide travel grants to families going to and from hospital, as well as grants for holidays and day to day living.
And the funding will help provide children with laptops to help with schoolwork and other areas of their lives while in hospital.
Hazel Melrose of TCCL said: “TCCL are delighted to have received this very generous donation from McAlpine Road Fire Station and would like to thank everyone involved.
“The past two years have been extremely hard for charities, with fewer fundraising events taking place, it means a lot to receive this donation.”
And for Help for Kids, this is just the latest donation from a Dundee fire crew.
Kingsway Fire Station also donated the £1,000 that would have been used for their Christmas party to the charity.
Help for Kids was able to use the funds towards its Christmas toy appeal.
Charity manager at Help for Kids Stacey Wallace said: “We are so grateful for the donation of toys and £400 cash this will go towards helping children with winter clothing.
“We rely heavily on donations from our community so this was a great help.
“Also a massive thank you to Kingsway fire station who also donated £1,000 towards our toy appeal.
“We really appreciate the support from both stations.”
