Barrack Charitable Trust donates £52,000 to charities across Scotland

Cheque presentation
James Barrack (centre) with Richard Stewart, centre fundraising manager and Vera Schroeter, centre head at Maggie’s Aberdeen

THE Barrack Charitable Trust has donated £52,000 to 25 charitable organisations across Scotland.

Established in 2009 by Knight Property Group founder and chairman, James Barrack, the trust aims to assist organisations cope with the decrease in charitable donations for specific projects due to the economic climate faced at the time.

Major beneficiaries of the latest tranche of donations include Maggie’s Aberdeen, which offers support to people with cancer and their families. The charity has received £5,000 to partially fund the vital role of a Clinical Psychologist, who will provide individual and group support for people living with cancer and their loved ones.

Last week, James Barrack presented a cheque to Vera Schroeter, centre head at Maggie’s Aberdeen, who said, “We are incredibly grateful to The Barrack Charitable Trust for their donation. The majority of our funding comes from voluntary donations, so we rely on funders to be able to provide free expert psychological support for people living with cancer. Especially now when the urgency and scale of the need for cancer support in the UK has never been greater.

“At Maggie’s we know that three in five people find the emotional impact of diagnosis harder than the physical challenge, which is why our programme of support is designed to deliver the best possible psychological care, without waiting lists. We also know that people with cancer, as well as family and friends, can need support beyond treatment and that a diagnosis can have a lasting impact on people’s relationships, confidence and overall mental health.

“But thanks to funders like The Barrack Charitable Trust we are here for people at possibly the hardest time of their lives.”

James Barrack, trust chairman, added, “We are proud to contribute to this important cause. Supporting the funding of a clinical psychologist at Maggie’s Aberdeen is a meaningful step towards ensuring comprehensive care for cancer patients. By addressing both the physical and mental health needs of patients, we hope to make a significant impact on their overall well-being and recovery journey.”

Other charities being supported around Scotland include Edinburgh Sick Kids, Scotland’s Bravest Manufacturing Company, and Harbour Ayrshire.

Edinburgh Sick Kids has received £2,500 to help the Emergency Family Fund, which is a financial support programme that brings immediate help to children and families when a hospital stay puts them in crisis. The fund allows children and family members to eat, buy necessary clothes and equipment and travel to and from the hospital when they have no other means.

Victoria Buchanan, of Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity, said, “Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity’s Emergency Family Fund is a financial support programme that brings immediate help to children and families when a hospital stay puts them in crisis. The fund helps families from across Edinburgh and Scotland, who find their child needing hospital care, to eat, buy necessary clothes and equipment and travel to and from the hospital when they have no other means. We rely on donations to keep the fund going so we are incredibly grateful to The Barrack Charitable Trust for their generous support.”

Scotland’s Bravest Manufacturing Company (SBMC), based in Erskine, is an award-winning social enterprise and a specialist in the production of signs. The charity provides employment, training, and support to vulnerable and disadvantaged military veterans and people with disabilities and health conditions. It has received £5,000 towards the running costs for the Accredited Training Centre Project over the coming year, which supports lifeworks employability courses for veterans.

Robert Lappin, assistant director of SBMC, added, “I would like to thank The Barrack Charitable Trust for providing a generous donation towards the cost of running our Accredited Training Centre. Glasgow Caledonian University has identified a wide range of positive benefits for the participants of our training programme and we look forward to sharing the findings of the evaluation this summer. This donation means a great deal to us as it means we can support the veterans and other beneficiaries to achieve the qualifications they have put so much time and effort into and it also means we can develop our training and qualification offering. Thank you very much for choosing to support Scotland’s Bravest.”

Harbour Ayrshire, which focuses on community regeneration in Ayrshire has received £1,500 to go towards funding for their Men’s Only Time project, for men suffering from addiction.

Andrew Downie, funding officer, commented, “Harbour Ayrshire work at the core of the Ayrshire community to tackle the effects of addiction and its underlying issues among the most vulnerable men and women coming from the most deprived communities.  Thanks to the support of the Barrack Charitable Trust we will be able to continue and develop our MOT programme (Men’s Only time) which brings men who need support to tackle their issues and the Charity together with our beneficiaries are most grateful for the valuable support.”