Charlie House is celebrating today (Tuesday 30th April 2019) following a substantial donation of £400,000 from the Seven Incorporated Trades of Aberdeen, via its Trades Widow Fund Charity. The generous donation, which is the single biggest donation in the history of the Seven Incorporated Trades of Aberdeen, will go towards funding the specialist support centre’s spa pool area which will feature in the new building.

The spa pool includes two accessible changing rooms, decking around the rear of the pool, mood lighting, integrated music and hoisting, as well as a 28ft long swim spa and jacuzzi. 

The significant donation takes the charity’s Big Build appeal pot to over £2million.  The appeal was launched in November 2018 and aims to raise £8million for a specialist support centrebuilt on the grounds of Woodend Hospital. The centre will have 8-bedrooms, with additional family accommodation, set in 4 acres of ground. The state-of-the-art building will feature a sensory room, library, spa pool, craft room, teen den, soft play area, therapy room, star room, for end-of-life care & bereavement, outdoor play area and sensory gardens as well as adaptable meeting space and office space for the Charlie House team and medical staff.

The Seven Incorporated Trades of Aberdeen established the Trades Widows Fund Charity in 2015 and also gifted a generous donation of £10,000 to Charlie House in December 2018. The main focus of the gift was to donate capital funding to charities that will benefit children in the local area.

Brian Donald, Factor of the Seven Incorporated Trades of Aberdeen Trades Widows’ Fund Charity, says “We have known for some time about the Charlie House long-term vision for their Big Build Appeal project and were recently delivered an in-depth talk. This highlighted both the great need for the specialist support centre locally and for the funding to enable this to happen. The collective group of trustees were very impressed with the information, plans and what the building will mean for North-east families and we were committed to supporting this. We are delighted to know that our donation will take the appeal over the £2 million mark and hope that the appeal continues to gather speed.”

Susan Crighton, Director of Fundraising at Charlie House, says, “We are so grateful to the Seven Incorporated Trades and Trades Widows Fund Charity for this very generous donation. We can’t quite put into words what this means and still can’t believe it! This figure really pushes the appeal forward and the entire team is celebrating hitting the £2million mark. The support and interest we have received from the trustees has been second to none and we are extremely thankful. 

Susan continues, “We will continue to raise awareness of the charity and our appeal and would also like to take this opportunity to thank the people of the North-east for their generous and unwavering support so far.”

Leigh Ryrie, Children & Family Support Manager, says, “This special pool area, which the donation will go towards, will enable a variety of therapeutic and fun sessions for the whole family. Parents will be able to relax in this warm and comforting environment and the children can enjoy one-to-one therapy sessions with themed lighting.”

Charlie House’s current services include activity clubs, siblings’ clubs, support from the Charlie House Community Nurse, one-to-one emotional and practical support from the Children & Family Support Manager and an annual adventure trip to Kielder Forest Park, run by the Calvert Trust.

In the North-east of Scotland alone there are over 1,500 babies, children and young people with complex disabilities and life-limiting conditions. Since the charity began in 2011, Charlie House has been committed to supporting these babies, children, young people and their families.

For further information on the Big Build Appeal or to make a donation visit www.charliehouse.org.uk or call 01224 313333.