A Perthshire former foodbank user who decided to give back is fundraising for coats for children in her latest philanthropic venture.
Linda Millar, from Blairgowrie, is doing all she can to tackle food and fuel poverty.
Last week, she donated dozens of slow cookers to Perth Foodbank as part of her wish to give back after her own struggles.
Linda has launched a Give a Kid a Coat for Christmas campaign which aims to provide children aged between three and 16 with a jacket, as winter draws in.
She said: “I just felt that it was all well and good addressing a part of the problem regarding food and fuel poverty and the fact that more families than ever are now using foodbanks but it got me started on thinking: ‘what else does a child need other than a hot meal?'”
“I was literally lying in bed at 10pm on Friday night and just decided to run with another fundraiser.
“That’s all it was, just a Friday night idea that blossomed through the kindness of so many others.
“The hashtag of #buyakidacoatforChristmas seemed to strike a chord with a lot of people.”
She added: “It’s good to give back to those who don’t have as much.”
Linda will be collecting donations of both new and used winter jackets until December 23.
Money can also be donated to the campaign through the dedicated GoFundMe page.
Linda said coats will then be distributed across local foodbanks, social work, the council and women’s aid groups.
She believes the fundraiser can have numerous advantages, over and above helping children facing disadvantages this winter.
“Unfortunately, thousands of children in Scotland are living below the poverty line, with their parents and carers struggling to make ends meet and the cost of warm coats is something some of them just cannot stretch to.
“On the flip side, many other families have good quality winter jackets which are only worn briefly before the children grow out of them, so it made perfect sense to try and bring the two together, and we have been absolutely blown away by the response we have received.”
Anyone who wishes to donate either money or a jacket should contact Linda through her JustGiving page.
