CCLASP

This year colleagues in our Edinburgh offices will be supporting Children with Cancer and Leukaemia Advice and Support for Parents (CCLASP), a charity which helps to support children and groups of families to express and share the feelings, anxieties and horror of having a child with a life threatening illness.

The charity provides vital services to families at the most difficult of times in a number of ways, from staging fun activities for large groups of families so that they can relax and make friends, to transporting sick children to their hospital appointments and collecting prescriptions so that parents can stay by their child's side.

Our Edinburgh colleagues have committed to raising £25,000 for the charity this year, which will fund the running of two caravans and a holiday cottage, allowing over 100 families to take a well earned rest over the course of the year. We will also use some of the funds we raise to pay for family events and gifts for the children, to lift their spirits when they are ill and help make lasting memories for the future.

Children's Hospice Association Scotland (CHAS) is the only charity in Scotland which provides hospice care specifically catered to children with life shortening conditions.

CHAS runs Scotland's only two children's hospices, Rachel House in Kinross and Robin House in Balloch. They also have a CHAS at Home service which support families across Scotland within their own homes when they need it most. CHAS supports 340 families every year, providing a place where they can come to be together and relax throughout the child's journey of care.

This year our colleagues in Glasgow have committed to raise £25,000 which will pay for a number of items that will improve children's visits to Robin House including a brand new all weather five-a-side pitch, resurfacing of the children's play area and some new medical equipment. Our fundraising will also pay for a special remembrance weekend for bereaved families, which allows them to return to the hospice and spend a relaxing day with other families sharing similar experiences.

This year our colleagues in Newcastle have chosen to support Gateshead Crossroads Care, a charity set up to offer advice, support and respite to young carers living in the area.

The children helped by the charity often have to cope with lots of additional stress and are isolated from their peers as they have to give up their time to care for someone who often suffers from a disability, chronic condition or addiction. Crossroads Care offers them a place to meet other children in the same situation, helps them with advice and advocacy and arranges fun activities and trips for them to provide respite from their home lives.

Colleagues in Newcastle have committed to raising £20,000 over the course of the coming year for the charity, which will be used to renovate a building next to Crossroad Care's offices. The building will be used as a respite centre for children who can visit and socialise with other young carers and have an overnight stay which will allow them to relax and open up to others about their worries.