Two Edinburgh charities have been awarded £10,000 by Scotmid Funerals.
Cruse Scotland and The Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care (SPPC) will both benefit from the funding.
Cruse Scotland supports around 5,000 bereaved people each year with their helpline and counselling sessions. They are being given £7,500 to support people in isolation or who have not been able to attend funerals due to the pandemic. The money will be spent on supporting their helpline and one to one services. These are available to everyone who has faced the passing of a loved one, regardless of the cause of death, anyone who is bereaved in lockdown or has been affected by the impact of the pandemic.
SPPC receives £2,500 to carry on its work with communities and individuals supporting each other during hard times. Some people who are very ill have lacked family support or are grieving in isolation. The funding will go towards Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief (GLGDGG), a Scotland-wide alliance set up in 2011 which works collectively to raise awareness on ways to cope with dying, death and bereavement.
Keith Robertson, chief executive of Cruse Scotland, welcomed the donation. He said: “The helpline is a compassionate listening service that offers people guidance about grief, reassurance that their feelings are normal and information on how to access further support.
“We have found that during lockdown, calls are more complex as people are grieving in isolation, they may not have attended funerals and many more are feeling anxious about Covid-19.
“The generous donation from Scotmid Funerals will help us to ensure that anyone who is grieving, wherever they are, will be able to access the help and support they need to get through a very difficult period of their lives.
Mark Hazelwood, chief executive of the SPPC, welcomed the donation. He said: “Declining health, death and bereavement affects everyone at some point. Our work is about ensuring that people are as well prepared as they can be and can get the care and support they need during those hard times. other.
“We are really delighted to receive this generous donation from Scotmid Funerals. It will help us to continue our work which we know can make a big difference for people during a very difficult period of their lives.”
James Blackburn, head of funerals for Scotmid Funerals, said: “End of life care and looking after those who are bereaved are both areas which need to be managed sensitively and compassionately.
“Our donations to both charities will help ensure that anyone who needs support in end of life care or to cope with the loss of a loved one, will be able to get it. It will help make sure that nobody feels that they need to go through this by themselves – and that can often be the first step in the healing process.
“I am delighted that we are able to make these contributions and help make a little difference to people across Scotland.”
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