Employees at Europe’s leading bath manufacturer, Carron Bathrooms swapped their manufacturing plant for the Highlands to raise funds for Children’s Hospice Association Scotland (CHAS) during May.
After a successful hill climb up Ben Ledi in the Trossachs last year, the kind-hearted fundraising team tackled their first Munro: Ben Vorlich near Lochearnhead, all in the name of charity.
Eighteen Carron Bathrooms ramblers and two four-legged mascots scaled the 985m (106m higher than their last challenge) in a team effort to raise over £4500.
Event organiser and finishing chargehand, Stevie Walton lead two different teams up Ben Vorlich, two weekends apart, after three employees, couldn’t make the first climb date. Stevie chose Ben Vorlich as the peak challenge, for it’s spectacular views, and demanding ascent – in particular, the scrambling near the summit called Stuc a' Chroin. The ascent covered 1260m and took the team over 5.5 hours. A steep climb, the wind chill factor at the peak was close to -5 degrees.
On top of the climb, the factory also held a charity bake sale £362 and their annual raffle totalling £600.
The fundraising drive marks the fifth year of backing by Carron Bathrooms and enables the full factory to lend their support to help children and young people with life-shortening conditions in Scotland. CHAS is a charity that provides the only hospice services in Scotland for children and young people with life-shortening conditions.
Speaking of the fundraising drive James McMorrine, commercial director at Carron Bathrooms explains:
“Every year I’m so proud of the dedication shown by our workforce here at Carron to raise vital funds for the incredible hospice service at CHAS. From our bake sale, raffle down to the climb, I’m always impressed by the spirit of the team to beat last year’s total and raise as much money as we can.
“2016 marks the fifth year of fundraising and Stevie really pushed the climbers with the challenge to tackle a Munro – no mean feat for a mixed group of walkers. Some of his team are still recovering!”
Caring for a child or young person with a life-shortening condition can place extreme demands on a family, physically and emotionally, so CHAS tries to lighten the burden. No two families are the same and CHAS has the flexibility to respond to the individual needs of family members by providing professional care, practical help and emotional support.
James continues:
“CHAS is a fantastic hospice offering services that are provided free of charge. It really is a great privilege knowing that what we’ve raised as a team goes directly to families in Scotland when they need support the most.”
Money raised by Carron Bathrooms will go towards to the “Help Our Hoose” campaign to redevelop Robin House in Balloch to improve facilities for up to eight families, offering palliative care for children and young people.
CHAS supports over 380 families, as well as a significant number of families who receive bereavement support. The services are free to families who need them and are funded mainly through the generosity of the many supporters who help the charity to raise £9 million needed each year to provide these fundamental hospice services.
For more information on CHAS or Carron Bathrooms visit http://www.chas.org.uk and www.carronbathrooms.com