A Lanarkshire good cause aiming to establish a retreat for families of children with disabilities and serious illnesses has opened a fundraising shop in Larkhall as part of its ambitious plans.
SMILE children’s charity – founded by Wendy and Stephen Meek in memory of their young son Justin – now has a thriving second-hand boutique on Union Street in Larkhall to support its work, which includes providing therapies and emotional support to families.
Now they are aiming for the new enterprise to help with their long-term aim of raising funds to provide a tranquil retreat in rural South Lanarkshire to offer free and much-needed respite retreats for families.
Smile, standing for Special Memories In Lanarkshire Every day, supports children and young people aged up to 25 and their loved ones, offering “families with children who are disabled, have cancer or serious illness a relief from their stress”.
The charity was founded in February by Stonehouse couple Wendy and Stephen in honour of Justin, who had a life-limiting genetic condition and who died aged just 10 on a family holiday to Florida in September 2014, to work towards their ambition of providing the respite facility.
Among the dedicated supporters helping the fundraising efforts are Justin’s younger sister, 13-year-old Lanark Grammar pupil Charlotte, who has a similar condition and who recently raised hundreds of pounds by taking part in the Glasgow and Edinburgh Kiltwalks.
Charity chief executive Wendy told the Hamilton Advertiser: “Justin and Charlotte both have a rare undiagnosed genetic condition resulting in medical and physical needs.
“As a family growing up and with two children in wheelchairs, it was really hard to find anywhere we could all go together, which suited everybody and where we could all relax fully with their two older sisters.
“We want to set up a retreat where families affected by disability and serious illness can come for a free week of respite and make memories; we’d ideally like it in rural South Lanarkshire where they can relax but can also go to nearby places like the shops, movies and funfair, where they can recuperate and breathe a sigh of relief.”
The fundraising shop on Union Street has now been open for six weeks and has a large range of clothes and shoes including bargain designer labels, plus toys and more with all proceeds going to support the charity’s work.
Wendy described its preparation and fit-out as a “real labour of love” by the couple and their family and friends, saying: “It was an empty shell and everyone came together – my aunt and uncle painted and we had people constructing racking and doing a lot of hard work to get it ready at minimum cost.
“The response has been really good; we appealed to the public for donations and want to create a real community project where we reach out to more families and raise awareness of what we do as well as raising funds.
“It’s something different and there are lots of really nice clothes at bargain prices. We wanted to have our first shop in Larkhall as we’ve had a great welcome and the town has always been very supportive.
“There are a few charity shops here and we hope that people visiting the town to do a shop run and search for bargains will add us to their list.”
Smile’s shop is currently offering a stock of free Halloween costumes, as well as seeking more volunteers to join the seven-strong team to support their fundraising aim to provide a rural retreat, inspired by the experiences of Justin and his loving family.
Wendy told how he was born with the genetic condition which meant he required constant oxygen, had a global development delay and “spent half or three-quarters of his life in hospital”, including six months in intensive care in 2013.
Justin, a pupil at Victoria Park school in Carluke tragically died suddenly when the whole family of six – including older sisters Caitlin and Sophie, now 26 and 24 – were on a special holiday in Florida.
Mum Wendy said: “So many families have really sick children with life-limiting conditions and it’s not easy; we were in and out of hospital and that puts pressure on the family and on siblings, and to have a family holiday is incredible.
“We’re very passionate about providing the respite retreat in the Clyde Valley or Strathaven so that families can have tranquility; we really want to make this happen and are determined to reach that goal and as quickly as we can.
“Our vision is for families to have respite, relax, recharge, have fun and spend quality time together making memories; and we offer mindfulness sessions and alternative therapies to offer reflect and improve their mental health.”
Smile has a charity fundraising partnership with Hamilton restaurant Rocca, while they have also received support from local businesses – including Blantyre firm Block Architects, who donated a laptop through South Lanarkshire’s community wish list initiative.
Managing director Kenneth Martin said: “We had a spare laptop and we thought a great use for it was to help a new charity get online quicker; witnessing the vision they have for the charity brought a tear to the eye and we wish them luck and will continue to help fundraise where we can.”
Further information on the good cause is available at smilechildren’scharity.com, by emailing [email protected] or by finding the charity and shop pages on Facebook.
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