Local business Wood has reached an impressive milestone and is half way through an 18-month partnership to raise £100,000 for Sue Ryder and help build two new bedrooms at its centre in Aberdeen.
Over the past nine months, employees have completed a variety of events, including fire walks, sponsored abseils, local races and walks as well as giving up their time to volunteer at Sue Ryder facilities.
In August, Wood welcomed over 300 revellers to its summer ceilidh at P&J Live. The event raised a staggering £30,000 and will be used to help more people with a neurological condition to live a fuller life.
Emma Leiper-Finlayson, capital appeal manager Sue Ryder said: “There aren’t enough ways to express how truly grateful we all are at Sue Ryder Dee View Court for Wood’s wonderful support and championing of our cause. Everyone really has gone above and beyond to support our appeal and the ceilidh was another amazing example of that. To raise £30,000 from just one event is simply incredible and testament to the hours of hard work that the organising team put in to making the event the huge success it was.
“Thanks to the team, we are one step closer to making our ambitions for a bigger Dee View Court a reality. However, Wood’s support goes far beyond bricks and mortar; together we’re helping more people in our community to live a life to their full potential and not one restricted or defined by their neurological condition.”
Talking about the ceilidh, Barbara Polson, executive assistant at Wood who helped organise the event said: “Having visited Sue Ryder Dee View Court and met some of the residents we could see how the money raised will help make a huge difference to people living with neurological conditions. People who due to illness or accidents could no longer live in the comfort of their own homes with their families; people who could be any one of us. Our team quickly got together to think about what we could do to raise money and the ceilidh idea was born.”
Tom Gilchrist, senior vice president - operated assets Europe & Africa at Wood, spearheaded the fundraising efforts after he lost his brother Will to a brain stem stroke in December last year. Will’s death made him doubly determined to raise the cash needed for this very worthy centre; a place that had he survived Will might well have needed. Talking about the recent success of the ceilidh, Tom said he was overwhelmed at the amount raised;
“This year, Wood has gone all out in its support of Sue Ryder and our people have demonstrated incredible acts of kindness and commitment. The success of the ceilidh raises the roof on our fundraising and brings us one step closer to achieving our target. I’m so proud of the team and all it has achieved. By getting involved, they are helping build a brighter future for local people living with neurological conditions.”
In addition to fundraising, various teams from Wood have been undertaking a range of volunteering activities at Sue Ryder Dee View Court to spruce up the existing areas. Tom Gilchrist and the leadership team visited the centre at the end of August to paint the external fences. Other teams have been gardening and helping to create lovely outdoor spaces for the residents to enjoy. Others have volunteered in their retail shops.
The generosity of the Wood team doesn’t stop there, employees recently geared up to participate in Wood’s cycle challenge on September 6-7. There were several cycling routes – all of which finished in Edinburgh – including start points at key operations in SAGE at St Fergus, the CATS terminal in Newcastle and Wood’s Glasgow office.
The Sue Ryder capital appeal will double the capacity of the current building and provide extra resources to the current facilities, enabling more care to be offered to more people. It will also create over 70 new jobs opportunities for the local community. Work is well underway and many of the 20 new bedrooms have already been completed. This includes lounge conversions and a new 4-bedroom garden annexe.
The extension will be revealed later in the year but we still need further help to raise the final amount and hit our goal of £3.9m so we can provide much needed services for people with neurological conditions in Scotland. Together we can help more people get the care they need.
For further information or to support Sue Ryder Dee View Court appeal, please visit our webpage: www.sueryder.org/deeviewappeal.
