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Run for your money
Schoolboy runs
150km to raise
thousands for
children’s hospital
By STAFF REPORTERAN EDINBURGH nurse represented
Children’s Hospices Across Scotland
(CHAS) said she was honoured to meet
HM King Charles during a visit to the
children’s hospice.
Freya Bown who is a staff nurse at
Rachel House, lives in Portobello and she
joined two families supported by the
charity during the royal visit. She
presented a gift of a specially designed
certificate to His Majesty showing his
name in the CHAS alphabet brand letters.
She said: “It was a real honour and
privilege to meet King Charles and to
represent CHAS in this way. His Majesty
was really interested in hearing about my
work as a nurse and the work of CHAS in
general and also Rachel House and said
thank you when I handed him a gift of a
framed certificate featuring his name in
the CHAS alphabet brand letters and
explained to him the letters had been
designed by the children we support.
“It was lovely too that he spent so
much time chatting to the children and
the families and learning all about them
and how they are supported by Rachel
House and by CHAS. It was a very special
day for us all and a wonderful, once in a
lifetime experience.”
Photo - Freya Bown is on the left with
the families of Orla Neary from Broughty
Ferry and Orla Hughes from Linlithgow.To find out more about the good work
being done by CHAS, please visit
http://www.chas.org.ukBy STAFF REPORTERTHE LEITH Collective has
launched its second winter coat
exchange in a practical move to
deal with increased costs as
well as the climate crisis.
The social interest company
is asking anyone who has good
quality winter coats and
waterproof jackets for all ages
and sizes to hand them into
their stores from 1 October
during opening hours.Businesses are also urged to
donate any surplus stock.
The coats can then be
collected completely free
by anyone who needs a
coat at Ocean Terminal, Fort
Kinnaird and St Enoch Centre
in Glasgow.
Founder Sara Thomson said:
“We’ve had countless people
telling us that last winter was
unbearable. We all hoped that
things would change for the
better in 2023, but sadly it’sbeen cut back after cut back,
price rise after price rise this
year. For those people that had
hoped to ‘ride out the storm’
last winter, the realisation that
things have not improved since
then and their struggles are
likely to continue into 2024 will
hit them hard this Christmas.
“A warm and comfortable
winter coat is a basic necessity,
especially now that we’re
seeing more and more extreme
weather as a result of climatechange. But for families that
have been continually
stretched, a coat yet another
essential item that they are
having to sacrifice. From our
experience, the culminative
effect of all these ongoing
sacrifices can have a hugely
detrimental impact on a
person’s dignity and on their
mental wellbeing.”
Last year more than 7,
coats were re-homed by The
Leith Collective during the year.Nurse Freya
meets The King
Get your coat down to Leith Collective
By STEPHEN RAFFERTYA YOUNG BOY who caught the running
bug has run 150 km and raised more than
£3,000 for the Edinburgh Children’s Hospital
Charity (ECHC).
Hudson Brown, now aged 8, set out to
complete 30 five km runs, initially setting a
£30 fundraising target and later raising it to
£100, but the James Gillespies’ Primary School
pupil’s fundraising JustGiving page is currently
sitting at £2,788.
His school teacher mum and running
partner, Sarah Igoe, said: “In a bid to help me
get fit, Hudson began running with me at the
end of June. Upon completing his first ever 5k
the first time he ran with me, he quickly caught
the running bug.
“He then set himself the challenge of running
thirty 5Ks before returning to school in August.
In order to achieve this he had to run at least
five 5Ks a week which is hard enough for an
adult, let alone a seven year old.”
Primary 4 pupil Hudson completed his
summer running challenge with days to
spare before the returning to school. The total
raised when added to Gift Aid comes to an
impressive £3,343.
Delighted mum Sarah added: “We couldn’t be
prouder of how well he has done, proving that a
big heart and a can-do attitude is sometimes all
you need to do something incredible.
“Thank you so much to everyone who has
supported Hudson - it really has meant the
world to him. Together we have raised an
amazing amount of money for the ECHC which
will help many families in their time of need.”
ECHC aims to support every baby, child,
young person and family that visits the RoyalHospital for Children and Young People
(RHCYP) by providing daily activities,
ward-based youth work, a family support
service, hospital shop, and by funding life-
changing medical equipment and ground
breaking research.
Pippa Johnston, director at ECHC, said:
“What a phenomenal achievement by Hudson.
We are always in awe and so grateful tosupporters who go the extra mile (literally)
to help seriously ill children and their families
going through the toughest times in hospital.
We would like to say an enormous thank
you to Hudson for his strong legs and even
stronger heart.”You can donate to Hudson’s JustGiving page at
http://bit.ly/3Ly4JGDHudson Brown