Aberlour Child Care Trust – 18 July 2017
Rebecca Amiel of the Aberlour Child Care Trust (Scotland’s Children’s Charity) gave the club an interesting introduction to the work of the Trust. Rebecca is the Donor Development Manager, based at the Trust’s HQ in Stirling.
An estimated 100,000 children in Scotland suffer from some degree of abuse or trauma. Aberlour deal with around 6,000 cases every year and are “there for Scotland’s hidden children when others let them down”. Rebecca explained how Aberlour provide a range of services to help care for children in a variety of ways:
- Residential and fostering service to provide children with a safe and caring environment.
- Disability service support for children with physical and cognitive problems.
- Recovery help for parents with addiction problems to enable children to thrive.
- Early years parenting advice and assistance to help young children bond with their parents.
- Early intervention to counsel parents and children and thus to prevent family problems from escalating.
Most cases come to Aberlour through a referral process from social-work departments who are sorely stretched and the Trust has been successful with three recent tenders to provide their services in the Highlands. The Trust has an £18M annual budget and strives to keep overheads low, such that 90% of its income goes directly to front-line services.
Rebecca finished by outlining how clubs like our own could help; for example by running fund-raising events.
John Ewing, in his vote of thanks, acknowledged the difficult task charities like Aberlour face and complimented Rebecca on her own, and her charity’s, dedication to helping many of Scotland’s most vulnerable children.
