Abby Parkhouse - Aberlour Trust

This week Hawick Rotary’s guest speaker was Abby Parkhouse from Aberlour Childcare Trust. She briefly outlined the 150 year history of the Trust from its origins as an orphanage in Aberlour to its current status as an organisation with sites throughout Scotland.

Most members admitted to having little or no awareness of the Trust and were amazed to discover the many ways in which it helps children and their families. Rather than running one, at times very large, orphanage, now there are numbers of smaller, more family-sized residences for children, many referred by councils or doctors, and many additional services such as respite care (to give carers a break), sustain services (to help keep children from being taken into care), a fostering service, guardianship service (to look after mostly trafficked children and where possible reunite them with family) and recovery units where mothers with young children can overcome addiction without being separated. In addition to all this they also supply grants/goods to families struggling with the cost of living crisis (£3.5 million has been disbursed since 2020)
Much of the work is paid for by local government, which finds using the Trust’s services more economical than running their own. Nonetheless the funding for 700 staff, 300 volunteers and the maintenance of properties requires fundraising to the tune of several million pounds every year.
Members asked numerous questions afterwards, many of them stemming from surprise at the scope of work covered and that a voluntary organisation could be responsible for dealing with such serious social issues.
Abby was thanked profusely and wished good luck by all.