A big-hearted Broughty Ferry home furnishings store is celebrating
raising more than £75,000 for a local children’s charity, proving home really
is where the heart is.
Gillies has raised the incredible total for The Archie Foundation
since 2016, primarily through the charity’s Oor Wullie Bucket Trails as well as
other fundraisers such as a Santa’s Grotto and charity ball.
The family-owned business is continuing to support the charity,
which helps babies, children and their families across Tayside, as well as
Aberdeen and the Highlands.
The Bucket Trails featured models of the iconic Sunday Post comic
strip character in a variety of colours and designs that were displayed and
later auctioned to raise funds to support paediatric healthcare across
Scotland. Gillies Managing Director Ian Philp attended the first
auction and subsequently purchased one of the Wullie statues to feature in the
Broughty Ferry store, alongside a collection bucket.
Gillies organised a Christmas ‘Oor Wullie Reunion’, where a dozen
of the statues were brought together in its iconic window display to raise
further funds. By the end of the year, Gillies had raised a total of almost
£20,000. The firm was then approached by The Archie Foundation to help set up a local committee in Dundee to continue its good work, raising money for the twin operating theatres for the children’s hospital at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.
From left, pictured at the Broughty Ferry store are Jamie-Leigh Cook from The Archie Foundation, with Ian Philp and Ewan Philp from Gillies.
Gillies has continued to work hand-in-hand with The Archie Foundation to drive fundraising efforts, including helping to organise the charity’s first charity ball in Tayside and the first Dundee Santa Dash in 2017.
Subsequent auctions of the Oor Wullies continued to bring in funds after the Bucket Trails returned in 2019, with Gillies purchasing the ‘Scots Guard Wullie’ for £15,000.
Speaking about the continued partnership between Gillies and The Archie Foundation, Ian said: “We love supporting local charities where we can see how the money is being spent. I’ve been very fortunate as a committee member to have a tour of the new twin operating theatres and refurbished ward at Ninewells.
“It makes me extremely proud that together with the Bucket Trails sponsors and the hard-working committee, we brought the twin operating theatres to life in 2022. This is an unbelievable facility that will help make children more relaxed when going through challenging times. We also have branches of Gillies in Aberdeen and Inverness, supporting both the children’s hospitals there. I think it’s so important to support these families and particularly the young children.”
Jamie-Leigh Cook, The Archie Foundation’s regional fundraising officer for Tayside, said partnerships with corporate supporters were vital to continue bringing in funds for the charity. “We are incredibly grateful to Ian and the team at Gillies for everything they continue to do to support The Archie Foundation, particularly in Tayside,” she said. “As a local charity, the funds that are raised go directly towards supporting babies, children and their families in the local area and helping to make stays in hospital a little easier – from financial grants, specialist equipment and staff training to extra touches to make life a bit easier and more comfortable.
“We’d like to thank Gillies for the ongoing support which is so vital to our work and congratulate the team on reaching the amazing milestone of £75,000 raised.”
For more details about the impactful work of The Archie Foundation and the support it offers, visit https://archie.org/