Charity Champion of the Year
THE HAVEN
THE Haven is a new pilot service which aims to tackle the mental health crisis facing children and young people.
Developed by Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity (ECHC), The Haven wellbeing and resilience service at The Fraser Centre in Tranent is available to families living within the catchment area of Ross High School.
It aims to support families with children struggling with their mental health, and to prevent problems escalating to the point where professional intervention is needed.
Roslyn Neely, CEO of ECHC, said that she hoped The Haven would be “part of the solution” to the mental health crisis.
ROSEMARY MOFFAT
ROSEMARY, a volunteer and now trustee at The Hollies in Musselburgh, has played a vital role in trying to keep The Hollies from shutting after it had been set to close down in November 2023.
Thanks to funding from Musselburgh Common Good Fund, The Hollies, a centre for over-60s in Musselburgh, was thrown a lifeline.
Hailed as the “glue that has kept everything together”, Rosemary has helped massively to keep The Hollies open serving the elderly and
vulnerable in the community.
Rosemary has stepped up to the mark and played a vital role in fighting for the centre’s future when all hope seemed lost.
RICHIE RONCERO/STEPS TO HOPE
RICHIE raised more than £250,000 for charity by spending eight weeks homeless in eight different cities in the UK in order to raise awareness of homelessness and addiction.
Richie also founded Steps to Hope, a charity which supports homeless people and those suffering from addiction.
The group’s mission is to provide support and resources to individuals who are struggling with addiction and to help them achieve long-term recovery.
The group offers a variety of services to support individuals on
their journey to recovery, including educational resources.
THE SPORTING MEMORIES FOUNDATION SCOTLAND
SPORTING Memories was founded in 2011 by Chris Wilkins, from Dirleton, to help older people connect and reminisce through the power of sport.
Mr Wilkins was originally inspired to find a way to support older people who were facing challenges in later life, be it living with dementia or long-term conditions, depression or simply being isolated and lonely.
Members go back weekly, saying that it is the highlight of their week.
The group’s work across East Lothian has grown rapidly over the past few years, with work targeting frailer older people who are sedentary and not physically active.