Rachel House teens
will paint the town red
 But their employees are also encouraged to give at a local level.
The challenge was taken up by the 30 staff who work in the Edinburgh and Glasgow offices, as partner John Buchanan
explains.
Astonishing work
“We wanted to concentrate our efforts on raising money for CHAS on account of the astonishing work they do at Rachel House. A dozen of us visited and were extremely impressed by what goes on.”
Last Christmas the fund-raising committee, chaired by Maria Francké, embarked on their first endeavour — a
staff calendar.
Thankfully for those involved, unlike the ladies of the Rylstone and District Women’s Institute, they kept their clothes on.
Only, it wasn’t their own clothes.
“All the Scottish staff dressed up in Edwardian outfits and we made complete idiots of ourselves having our pictures
taken at the People’s Palace in Glasgow,” says John.
“The calendars were sold within the firm and to clients, raising £5000 for the fund.”
Their next challenge wasn’t quite so leisurely — they entered two teams for
the Edinburgh Marathon.
And as if that wasn’t enough, a week later a group of them also participated in the city’s Great Scottish Walk.
Totting up the totals from all three events, the Drivers Jonas Scottish crew collected a staggering
£11,000, which they have already handed over to CHAS.
“In the past we’ve donated to the CHAS global pot, which has been used for the running of Rachel House and the building of Robin House,” says John.
“We’d collected a further £1000 through late donations, but this time, with it being Christmas, we wanted to do something special for the kids. It was suggested we put the money towards one of their teenage weekends.”
That will start this Friday, when the youngsters take part in a Stars In Their Eyes-type event at Rachel House.
Slap-up meal
The following day, a group of eight
are heading for Edinburgh to paint the town red!
After a slap-up meal in a city restaurant, they’ll make their way to a comedy club before heading out clubbing.
Rachel House social worker Sharon Ballingall, explains, “At a time when most teenagers are gaining their independence, many who come to Rachel House are losing theirs.
“These weekends are designed to give them a bit of independence back. So parents, brothers and sisters are strictly banned!
“Due to the amount of care required by many of them, we have to take nurses and oxygen everywhere they go. So some have never been on an outing like it.
“But they’re going to have an absolute ball.”
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The Drivers Jonas teams ready for the Edinburgh Marathon.
