Church’s charity donations help local community thrive
The congregation of Blackhall St Columba’s Church in Edinburgh has raised £10,000 for children’s charity HopScotch.
The donation, which will provide respite breaks for vulnerable and disadvantaged youngsters, brings the total given to charity by the church to £274,076 since 1992 – with awards being made annually to different causes.
Roberta McKay, cofounder of HopScotch, said: “On behalf of HopScotch, I would like to thank everyone at Blackhall St Columba’s Church who contributed to the generous donation of £10,000.
“This award will support the cost of running our 2024 respite programme.”
Lynn Bunney, from the Blackhall St Columba’s congregation’s WATCH committee, which oversees the initiative, said: “WATCH stands for Working All Together Caring and Helping Through the Cross. It was set up to raise funds for a charity outside the church, which is something we do every year.
“Last year it was the Pilton Equalities Project. In Covid they were providing food parcels and they also run minibuses and pick up the housebound and take them to day-care units, and they offer lifts to people.
“Everything that we raise goes to the charity. We start off with a coin collection in the summer and then we have a coffee morning and then we have the Christmas fair, which is amazing.”
They were also helped by the members of Drylaw Parish Church, and it is planned that the two congregations will form a union further down the line.
While the next charity that the congregation will support is still to be decided, it intends to try something new.
“This year we’re going to branch out and do a
This award will support the cost of running our 2024 respite programme at HopScotch
2025 calendar to sell,” Lynn revealed. “We’re going to run a competition encouraging everyone to send in photos of their pets and then we’ll pick the best ones for the calendar.”
Previous beneficiaries have included children’s bereavement charity Richmond’s Hope, and Fresh Start, which supports people who have been homeless to get established in their new homes.