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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')

Business coach pledges to take action for charity in need

An award winning business coach in Paisley has pledged to raise a whopping £50,000 for Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus (SBH) Scotland, after hearing of the big financial challenges they face each year.

Andrew Goldberg, originally from Baltimore, was introduced to the charity back in 2020 but after a visit to their purpose built family support centre, just outside Glasgow, he knew he wanted to do more. Andrew heard of the lifelong impact the rare, complex disabilities have on children and their families and the increasing fundraising challenges SBH Scotland face to provide dedicated support to them. He knew immediately that he could get his ActionCOACH business involved through the work he does with local business owners.

In addition to a monthly donation, Andy has provided free training to the charity’s team and most recently has pledged to donate all profits from his book launch and sales workshop in May.

Andrew said: “In ActionCOACH I work with business owners to make more money but a big part of that success is giving back to the community and having a positive impact on others.

“I was immediately bowled over by the care and support shown by SBH Scotland to families right from their baby’s diagnosis. I’m very proud to help raise awareness, to promote through my business and so far I’ve been delighted to contribute over £5,000. I’m hoping my upcoming book launches will also drive another big donation towards my £50,000 target!”

SBH Scotland was formed in 1965 by a group of parents who each had a child with spina bifida and hydrocephalus. Over 56 years later, the charity now supports over 4,000 children, young people, adults, their family members and carers across Scotland.

Deborah Roe, director of fundraising for SBH Scotland said, “We are thrilled to receive support from Andrew Goldberg. The children that we support have varying disabilities and extremely complex needs that last a lifetime. Each year we have to raise £1million to provide a bespoke service for each child and each year reaching our fundraising target gets harder.

“Andrew has become one of our business ambassadors and is leading the way in creating simple yet impactful ways to support us through his business. We hope this inspires other businesses to get involved in whatever capacity they are able.”

To find out more about Andrew’s upcoming book launches “The Selling Checklist” please visit andrewgoldberg.actioncoach.co.uk/events/ or to find out about becoming a business ambassador for SBH Scotland please email or visit sbhscotland.org.uk.

Nursery takes on obstacles for SBH Scotland

A children’s nursery in Newton Mearns, have been so inspired by one of their parent’s charitable actions that they followed suit and created a sponsored adventure walk and obstacle course to raise funds for Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus (SBH) Scotland.

5 year old Andrew Carr, a pupil at Calderwood Lodge Primary School and Nursery, proudly told his nursery workers of his Dad’s fundraising; representing SBH Scotland in Comic Relief’s Red Nose and Spoon Challenge. After watching Sean’s gruelling 4 day expedition on TV, it then became the inspiration for the nursery staff to create a sponsored adventure walk for their own children, including Andrew.

As the sun shone, over 100 children, parents and 16 staff set off on an adventure walk around the school playground and then back to 4G pitch for an obstacle course. In doing so they raised a phenomenal £1616.86 for Andrew’s charity.

Andrew’s parents, Lynne and Sean, found out they were expecting a baby with spina bifida at their 20 week scan. At that point they “felt like the carpet had been taken from under" them. In a search for information they went online and found SBH Scotland, a charity specialising in the complex disabilities of spina bifida and hydrocephalus. Lynne made contact. Since that moment the charity got in touch and have been involved in Andrew’s life, providing information and support, as well as creating a network of support for the entire family.

Louise Thomson, Principal Teacher at Calderwood Lodge said, “Our children’s health and wellbeing is our top priority - we love to stay active. As soon as we heard about Sean’s endeavours we couldn’t wait to do something to support this great charity who mean so much to the Carr family.

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.”

Deborah Roe, fundraising director at SBH Scotland said; “We’re incredibly grateful to Calderwood Lodge Nursery Class. Their thoughtful donation will go towards our family support service which provides key workers who personalise support for families like the Carrs. Each year we need to raise £1million pounds and without donations like this we wouldn’t be there for families at a time when they need us the most.”

If you’d like to create your own fundraising challenge like Calderwood Lodge or take part in a pre-arranged sponsored activity please contact Lynsey Hamilton, Fundraising Manager, on 03455 211 600 or email

Visit our YouTube channel to watch the story which inspired this challenge. Sean's Story is available to watch now.