Kirkcaldy pub boss raises over £1000 for CHAS as charity marks 30th anniversary

Charles Davidson, who runs Charley’s Bar in Dunearn Drive, has collected £1223 and this is just the figure for the latest amount – he has raised an incredible £30,000 for the charity over the past 15 years.

The recent fundraising amount for CHAS was raised through events held at the pub over three months including pool and dominoes tournaments, raffles, karaoke and a Christmas eve party.

He also has two money collections which will also be donated.

Mr Davidson, who is due to present a cheque to charity representatives in the next fortnight, said: “We have raised thousands in here over the years – I reckon we have raised over £30,000 over the last 15 years. The punters have been fantastic and they have helped me out a lot.”

He said CHAS is a charity close to his heart as his two-month old grandson Kyle, who passed away from a brain tumour, used the services at Rachel House 15 years ago and he has been raising money for the charity ever since.

He said: “I can’t speak highly enough of the staff at CHAS/Rachel House – you just know for a fact that they are using the money the right way.”

He added that he is grateful for the help the charity gave his family and he will continue doing what he can to support it.

CHAS Community Fundraiser for Fife, Maxine Campbell said: “We are so grateful to Mr Davidson and all at Charley’s Bar for this very generous donation which takes the total raised for CHAS since 2017 to over £12,000 which is just incredible.

"The funds will make a real difference to the lives of the children with life shortening conditions we support across Scotland and their families.”

Recently Children’s Hospices Across Scotland, better known as CHAS, has been celebrating a major milestone - 30 years of supporting children with life-shortening conditions and their families across the whole of Scotland.

CHAS was officially founded in February 1992 by volunteers and parents who previously had to travel to England to access children’s hospice services.

Together, the group worked hard to set up the charity before securing the money required to set up the very first children’s hospice in Scotland ‘Rachel House’ which began supporting children and families in 1996.

This was thanks to the MacRobert Trust who generously donated £2 million on their Golden Anniversary, the Daily Record which ran a hugely successful campaign and raised £4 million over 13 months and the thousands of generous and loyal supporters across Scotland.

Three decades later, the charity remains focused on their founding vision of providing the highest-quality children’s palliative care and hospice services.

Peta Hay, chairman of the CHAS Board, said: “We are celebrating and recognising the families, staff, volunteers and supporters who have contributed over the years since the inception of CHAS and looking to the future of the organisation, redoubling our efforts on our mission to reach every dying child.

“There will always be children with palliative care needs and at CHAS, we believe that no family should face the death of their child alone. I’m privileged to be chair during this momentous anniversary.”

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