Ronald McDonald House Charities - Robyn Lang & The charity IMAGINATE

Wed, Oct 23rd 2019 at 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

President Lindsay presents a cheque to Molly Goyer-Gorman



  Ken Lindsay introduced Molly Goyer-Gorman of the charity IMAGINATE. This is an organisation that promotes and develops theatre and dance for children and young people in Scotland. They are seeking support to fund a boat trip for Canal View Primary School, Wester Hailes. This is for 60 disadvantaged  children many of whom had never been on the canal that goes past their houses. President Lindsay was pleased to present Molly with a cheque for £300 to help fund the canal trip on 6th November.

The speaker this week was Robyn Lang, a fund-raiser with the Ronald McDonald House Charities. This organisation was set up in the USA some 40 years ago by Audrey Evans. She saw a need to provide accommodation for families who have sick children in hospitals far from where they live or cannot afford private accommodation. She obtained the major support of the McDonalds food chain, to set up an organisation that now has helped 7 million families world-wide. Of these, 8,000 are in the UK and 500 in Scotland. Houses provided by the charity are usually co-located with the children’s hospitals or nearby. The cost to the charity in Scotland is £650 per family per night. The only cost to be met by the family is a £25 returnable deposit. Of the charitable income, Robyn was able to explain that for every pound donated, 78p goes on housing, 18p on fund-raising, and 4p on governance.
Responding to questions, Robyn said there was no vetting of applicants other than demonstrating they had a need. There was also no time limit on the family stay depending on how long they had a child in the hospital.
 
Ian Greig proposed the vote of thanks, noting how fast the charity had grown in 40 years and that a new housing complex was to be provided in Edinburgh.
 
Report by Mike Latimer
 
 
 

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