A DONATION of must-have items for the parents and families of seriously ill children who have to use the safe haven of Ronald McDonald House in Glasgow has been made by Pacific Building.
This fantastic charity provides a home from home for the families of seriously ill children who are being treated at the neighbouring Royal Hospital for Children or at other hospitals in the west of Scotland.
Pacific have made a number of significant donations down through the years to the hugely impressive House, which sits in the grounds of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital campus, and this time it was the brainchild of Senior Buyer Anne Tavendale.
She asked suppliers, sub-contractors and staff to dig deep to make financial donations that could be used to purchase more than 700 items that were on a wish-list prepared by Corporate and Events Fundraising Manager Stephanie Beglin.
Anne headed up the Pacific team that made the presentation to Stephanie and her colleagues on Friday, April 16, 2021, at the welcoming and safe base that provides families with 31 beautiful bedrooms, kitchen stations, lounges, games room and laundry facilities.
The huge donation, which arrived in the back of a Pacific van, included:
- Toys, books, pencils and crayons (50)
- Baskets and writing pads (250)
- Grab-and-go paper bags containing chocolate and fruit juice (300)
- Mattress protectors, pillows and pillow protectors (50)
- Kitchen items (30)
Anne was accompanied by Bid and Marketing Manager John Callander, Estimator/Surveyor Lynsay Thomson and Site Foreman Graeme Scott.
Stephanie said: “We are truly overwhelmed by the generosity and thoughtfulness of staff and suppliers of Pacific Building. What an incredible amount!
“The care that has gone into each and every gift to ensure a family’s stay at Ronald McDonald House Glasgow is made that little bit more homely is just incredible.
“From items for the families to use in the kitchen, crisp fresh linen and comfy pillows for the bedrooms, toys for the children, and a host of practical items to help launch our brand new ‘Welcome Hampers’ and ‘Grab n Go’ bags.
“Each donation will directly help our families who can find themselves staying away from home for long periods of time while supporting their child in hospital and they are warmly welcomed.
“On behalf of the many who will benefit, thank you Pacific Building.”
Everything at Ronald McDonald House is provided free of charge, so the charity needs lots of support from donors, whether that’s through people buying items from their Amazon Wishlist or volunteering within the house and at events or even straightforward fundraising.
In October 2019, Pacific donated betting paddles for the House’s annual fundraising dinner and supplied and fitted two giant heart-shaped pin boards that display the life stories of the “wee stars” associated with the building.
And in December that year – after appealing to local people and organisations to make donations of Christmas presents to add to the gifts that the company had purchased – a team of staff from the firm presented the House with a mountain of toys both for young patients and for their brothers and sisters who were living temporarily at the house on Govan Road.
