Ball raises more than £35,000 for Tayside children’s hospital

Funds will go towards new twin operating suite

Charity fundraisers have collected more than £35,000 to help boost facilities at the NHS Tayside Children’s Hospital.

The ARCHIE Foundation hosted its second Spring Ball last weekend which attracted hundreds of guests.

Thanks to a raffle and auction the event raised £35,675 for the facility based at Ninewells Hospital, in Dundee.

The funds will go towards helping the charity reach its £2 million target to pay for a twin operating suite for the children’s hospital.

Over the years The ARCHIE Foundation has paid for specialist equipment, helped train staff, buy toys, fund research and provide specialist staff.

Ian Philp, chairman of the charity’s Tayside fundraising committee, said: “The evening was absolutely superb.

“Before it started, I was hoping to reach around £30,000. I was absolutely delighted to see the total at more than £35,000.”

Staff at Gillies, in Broughty Ferry, won the star lot at an auction when they paid £15,000 for Signpost Wullie – one of the sculptures to feature on the upcoming Oor Wullie’s BIG Bucket Trail.

The statue has a post pointing to Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Inverness and Glasgow, the other cities taking part in Scotland’s first nationwide public art trail. A location for the signpost has still to be decided upon but the trail runs for 11 weeks from June 17.

Mr Philp, who is also the managing director of furniture store Gillies, added: “We are really keen to keep supporting The ARCHIE Foundation and we’re delighted to be a part of the new trail – we’re really looking forward to it.”

The charity ball was held at the Invercarse Hotel, in Dundee, last Friday.

Guests were also entertained by the Sing It Sign It: Makaton Choir. Andy Cameron also performed along with the Dundee-based band Eat The Peach.

Picture: Dougie Nicolson. The ball’s organising committee with Cassie Thompson and Sarah Johnston from ARCHIE, Ian Philp and guest speaker Andy Cameron.