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Eastfield Primary Stomp into Action for SBH Scotland

A Cumbernauld Primary School took to the playground for a walk with a Jurassic twist to raise funds for locally based disability charity, Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus (SBH) Scotland.

Every year group at Eastfield Primary School took it in turns to participate in their daily fitness mile around their playground with a special guest from SBH Scotland, their mascot, Spiney the Diney! They are the very first school participating in the new Dino-Stomp Challenge run by the charity to raise funds to help run social groups and provide support for local families affected by the lifelong, complex disabilities of spina bifida and/or hydrocephalus.

After a very exciting day, the Primary School announced that the pupils had raised a staggering £3,483.20 which they were only to happy to present to Spiney.

Lesley McPhee, Head Teacher at Eastfield said, “We are committed to the health and wellbeing of our pupils here at Eastfield. What better way to get excited about staying active than getting involved with the Dino-Stomp which has the added benefit of supporting an important charity who are virtually on our doorstep and need our help.

She continued, “We’re overwhelmed at raising such a huge amount and I’d like to thank all the parents, children and staff who got involved.”

With a family support centre based in Dullatur, SBH Scotland provide a lifetime commitment of support and information to anyone affected by the rare, complex disabilities of spina bifida and/or hydrocephalus. They offer a range of services across Scotland including 1-2-1 support in home, hospital and nurseries/schools, a helpline, health and wellness clinics and support groups and outings.

Deborah Roe, Director of Fundraising at SBH Scotland said; “We’re incredibly grateful to Eastfield Primary for putting in such a tremendous effort and for smashing the Dino-Stomp Challenge! We are truly overwhelmed by the money donated and thank everyone who generously gave. The past couple of years have been incredibly difficult for us and as things start to open up again the demand on our support services continues to grow. In order to raise over £1million this year we need help more than ever and having the support of the local community means everything to us.”

If you’d like to get involved with a Dino-Stomp or if you’d like to take part in a challenge for SBH Scotland please visit www.sbhscotland.org.uk or contact our fundraising team.

Sharon's Rolling Challenge raises over £750

SBH Scotland member, Sharon Mottram, has been inspired to take on a 177 mile challenge for our charity, Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus (SBH) Scotland whom she says came into her life at just the right time.

Sharon has the complex condition spina bifida and has always been a member of SBH Scotland. However, 4 years ago a chance communication with us changed Sharon’s life for the better.

Sharon explains, “Just over 6 years ago I had an accident which left me in a wheelchair. It was a big change to my life at a time when I was already going through a lot of other issues. Everything got too much for me and I was left feeling anxious and really low. I was at the point where I didn’t even like to leave the house. Then one day a letter came through the door inviting me to an SBH Scotland event. I couldn’t go to the event but when I called the support worker, Wendy, asked if she could come to visit me instead, and the rest is history!

She continued, “They’ve been a massive part of my life ever since; offering a lot of home support, getting me to join their adult social groups online and offering an SBH Scotland counsellor. It’s no exaggeration when I say If it wasn’t for SBH Scotland, I don’t know where I’d be today.”

It was this level of dedicated support that put the wheels in motion for a sponsored challenge. Sharon decided that for 40 days she would try to cover as many miles as she could whilst raising money for the charity she knew were facing a tough challenge this year financially. By the start of May she’d covered a tremendous 177 miles with some tricky challenges en route and visiting Whitehills, Portsoy and other coastal routes.

Sharon added, “Most of the time I really enjoyed it but one day I tried a different route and found myself rolling down a very steep embankment. I stopped only when I got stuck on a grass verge – it was quite terrifying! And on a few occasions I wasn’t feeling well enough to continue so my fabulous friends Nathan and Sarah along with my son Haydn, stepped in to do a walk for me on those days, for which I’m very grateful.”

Lynsey Hamilton, fundraising manager at SBH Scotland said; “We’re incredibly grateful to Sharon for all the effort she put into this challenge. We need to raise over £1 million each year to provide our range of dedicated support services to children, young people and adults across Scotland. Sharon’s amazing donation is so far totalling £755 and will go towards support for other charity members like Sharon so a massive thank you to all those who donated to her.”

For information on spina bifida visit our information online.

Would you like to speak to one of our Support Workers, or do you need information? Email our team now.

Fancy creating your own challenge for SBH Scotland, contact our Fundraising Team today.

Chisholm Hunter offer Glimmer of Hope to SBH Scotland

Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Scotland (SBH Scotland) has received a generous donation of £30,000 from long-standing supporter Chisholm Hunter, following the cancellation of our biggest annual charity event due to Covid.

For three decades, Chisholm Hunter have been staunch supporters of SBH Scotland with a focus, most recently, as headline sponsor of our annual “A Question of Burns” supper; one of the West of Scotland’s most successful Burns supper events, typically welcoming 500 people each year to join in an evening of poetry, performances and dining.

Since its launch in 1981, the event has raised over £1 million which has been used to provide personalised support to thousands of children, young people and adults across Scotland affected by the lifelong, complex conditions of spina bifida and/or hydrocephalus.

Last year, the charity was able to bring the festivities online to host the World’s Biggest Burns, where viewers were treated to performances from a host of famous faces. Due to the continued impact of Covid on the Scottish charity, the planned ‘in person’ event had to be cancelled entirely this year.

However, thanks to the kind donation from luxury jeweller and diamond retailer Chisholm Hunter, the charity has managed to fill the funding void left by the cancelled event.

Harry Brown, Managing Director of Chisholm Hunter, said: “SBH Scotland are a wonderful charity, and their work makes a real difference to the lives of over 3,500 individuals in Scotland who live with spina bifida and/or hydrocephalus.

“We understand how hard the third sector has been hit over the last two years and we’ve been truly inspired by the charity’s tenacity during this time. Chisholm Hunter’s relationship with SBH Scotland celebrates its thirtieth year in 2022 and we weren’t going to let the cancellation of an event interrupt the vital support services so many families rely on in Scotland.

“I hope our donation goes some way in helping the charity to continue support for those who benefit from their fantastic services.”

Dr Margo Whiteford CBE, Chairperson of SBH Scotland, said: “We could not be more thankful for the generosity and kindness shown by the team at Chisholm Hunter. We have to raise over £1 million each year and losing the Burns Supper event for this year was a big blow.

“Thanks to the donation from Chisholm Hunter, we can continue to provide our dedicated services, including 1-2-1 support in homes and hospitals, health check clinics and support groups to those affected by spina bifida and hydrocephalus in Scotland.

“We’re already looking forward to next year’s “A Question of Burns” supper, but more importantly we can’t wait to build on our relationship with Chisholm Hunter which has such a positive impact on the services we can offer our charity members. It is always a pleasure to work with their lovely team who have always gone above and beyond to help us throughout our thirty year relationship.”

For more information on Chisholm Hunter,

visit their site or to find out why their donation is so important please visit SBH Scotland

Lynda Weir Memorial Triples at Bogleha' raises £2,531 for SBH Scotland

Bowlers from across Cowal, Glasgow, Renfrewshire, Ayrshire & the Kingdom of Fife travelled to Bogleha' Bowling Club on Saturday 30 April for their annual charity invitation mixed triples, playing for the Lynda Weir Memorial Trophy. A successful day ended with a phenomenal donation of £2,531 to our charity, SBH Scotland.

This popular tournament is the regular curtain raising tournament in the Cowal outdoor bowling calendar, and the enthusiasm of the players was not dampened by the inclement weather conditions that developed as the day progressed.

At the close of the day's play, tournament organiser Andy Weir said, "On behalf of my family, I'd like to express my extreme gratitude to all those who have supported my sister's memorial trophy once again so early in the new season and I hope that next year's tournament will be a similar success."

Following the raffle, Andy invited his uncle, John Girvin, to present the prizes and trophy.

Following the prize giving, Andy thanked those who had donated so generously to the enormous raffle and superb afternoon tea, those who had competed in the 'spider' or bought raffle tickets and to those who had assisted with the green, the bar and the catering. There were also some private donations made on the day for which Andy expressed his sincere appreciation.

Andy was also delighted to announce the final charity total for this year's event was an overwhelming £2,531. As usual this sum was donated to Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Scotland, where the money is used to improve the lives of those affected by both congenital disorders. This now brings the total raised for the charity over the past nine tournaments to over £11,000.

Deborah Roe, director of fundraising for SBH Scotland said, "We remain ever grateful to Andy Weir, his family and all the bowlers who participate in the Linda Weir Memorial Triples. For 9 years the generous donations given have helped our clinical and support teams provided dedicated family support services to children, young people and adults affected by these complex conditions, at a time they need it the most. Thank you."

For those of you interested in bowling and the all important results, they were:

Booby Prize: Jane Campbell, Jim Campbell & Davie Downie (Dunoon Argyll)

Spider winner: Jonothan Neil (Anchor)

Beaten Semi-finalists: Lorraine Galbraith, Kenny Beattie & Callul Galbraith (Dunoon Argyll) / Lorna Anderson, Robert Menzies Jr. & Rikki McIntyre (Kirn & HQ & Bogleha')

Runners-up: Lesley Weir, Helen McVicar, Andy Scott (Bogleha', Upper Cowal & Kirn & HQ)

Winners: Isobel Downie, Bobbie Davie Jr. & Stevie Scott (Bogleha')