Bobby earns accolade for ‘extraordinary’ work

An inspirational volunteer who has shown constant drive to support St Andrew’s Hospice since the 1980s has been honoured for his dedicated service to the Airdrie charity.

Bobby Grant was a member of the initial committee which raised the £1.2 million needed to open the hospice 37 years ago – and made the original suggestion of its grand car raffle, which is still run annually and is one of the hospice’s biggest fundraisers.

He went on to help the charity as a driver for a quarter of a century, transporting patients to appointments as well as getting behind the wheel of its minibus for staff outings and weekly day trips for in-patients.

Now the hospice’s longestserving male volunteer, he has most recently taken care of assisting with the safe collection and emptying of donation tins, in an echo of one of his first volunteer roles.

Bobby was recently presented with a certificate of recognition from St Andrew’s director of mission and long-time friend Sister Catherine Egan – and joining him to celebrate the occasion were daughter Christine Toman and daughter-in-law Sharon Grant, who are both staff nurses at the hospice.

Thanking his friends at St Andrew’s as he takes a step back from his role for the moment during the coronavirus pandemic, he said: “Every volunteer will tell you that you get far more out than you put in.”

Deputy chief executive Joy Farquharson thanked Bobby for his “extraordinary efforts”, telling him: “On behalf of the trustees, senior management team, staff, patients and the community of Lanarkshire – our heartfelt thanks and admiration for 37 years of voluntary service.”

Bobby’s involvement with the hospice started when Sister Charles of the Sisters of Charity provided spiritual care when his wife Patsy had cancer and sadly passed away in October 1983.

The Sisters of Charity were at that time aiming to open a hospice and had been offered the site at Henderson Street where St Andrew’s is still based – and which had previously housed St Margaret’s Primary where Patsy had begun her career as a teacher.

Joining the fundraising committee, Bobby suggested thinking bigger as they aimed to raise the money needed and suggested the first grand car raffle, which took place in 1984 and raised more than £11,000.

St Andrew’s opened in 1986 and the fundraising campaign was completed two years later, but Bobby’s involvement continued and upon his early retirement f rom Tennent Caledonian breweries in 1990, he started on the next leg of his volunteering journey.

A hospice spokesperson told the Advertiser: “He planned to take a few months out and then begin a driving school, but the week after he retired, administrator Mary Blaney asked him what he planned to do with his time – as the hospice was looking for a volunteer driver for its new day unit.

“Bobby agreed and started 25 years of driving for the hospice, transporting thousands of patients over those years.

“In recent years, he’s been assisting with the collection cans, ensuring they’re cleaned, sealed and ready to go back out to local businesses.

“His first involvement was selling raffle tickets and shaking collection cans and his family and friends all remember having hospice collecting cans in their houses so it’s quite fitting that his most recent role was emptying rather than filling them!

“He’s been an incredible support to St Andrew’s Hospice throughout the years and we wanted to show our appreciation.”

Family affair Bobby with daughter Christine Toman and daughter-in-law Sharon Grant, who are both staff nurses at the hospice