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Joy as Aberdeen recruits answer call to support Charlie House

By Emma Morrice
28/07/2019, 4:20 pm
New volunteers Ruby, Susan, Alison and Eunice in front of Leigh Ryrie, Joan Cowie and Beth Hopkins
New volunteers Ruby, Susan, Alison and Eunice in front of Leigh Ryrie, Joan Cowie and Beth Hopkins

An Aberdeen children’s charity has told of its joy at welcoming new volunteers.

Charlie House, which supports children and young people with complex disabilities and/or life-limiting conditions, held a pilot training programme for new recruits.

The volunteers will now be able to work with children and families across the north-east.

Those who took part received training in several different specialist areas, including child protection and communicating with children with disabilities and bereavement support.

They were presented with completion certificates at the end of their session.

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Leigh Ryrie, children and family support manager at Charlie House, said: “We are thrilled to have our first group of volunteers complete this specialist training and we look forward to introducing them to our families in the coming weeks and months.

“We run a range of fully accessible clubs and activities throughout the year, with even more activities taking place during the summer months to support families during the school holidays.

“We rely on our volunteers generously giving their time to help deliver these activities and services, and we are incredibly grateful for their support.”

Charlie House is currently undertaking an £8 million fundraising campaign called the Big Build Appeal.

It hopes to build a specialist support centre in four acres of ground at Woodend Hospital, after receiving the backing of NHS Grampian.

There are more than 1,500 children in the north-east living with complex disabilities and/or life-limiting conditions who could benefit from the centre.

Volunteers support Charlie House throughout the year on a regular and ad-hoc basis. The charity put out an appeal earlier this year for people to join their pool of supporters, which could simply mean giving up an hour or two to man a stall at an event.

Anyone interested in volunteering is asked to contact volunteer@charliehouse.org.uk or call 01224 313333.