Scotland’s children’s hospice charity CHAS has thanked funnyman Kevin Bridges after he donated £20,000 ahead of Christmas.
The Clydebank comic and his wife Kerry generously handed the funds over to a host of charities in the area he grew up in and threw his support behind the work that they do in their communities.
One of the charities to benefit from the pledge is the Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS) which will receive £20,000. The iconic comic also pledged a whopping £30,000 donation to West Dunbartonshire Community Foodshare and a further £10,000 to Y Sort It, located in Clydebank.
The charities being supported by Bridges and his wife includes: West Dunbartonshire Community Foodshare, based in Dumbarton, the youth charity Y Sort It, located in Clydebank; Bags Full of Love West Dunbartonshire, a charity providing filled backpacks for youngsters; children’s charity CHAS; Improving Lives – a Clydebank-based charity offering safe spaces for disabled people; Launch Foods, a Glasgow charity tackling food surplus and helping feed hungry kids; and DRC Youth Project in Glasgow.
The donation to CHAS coincides with the recent launch of CHAS’s Christmas Appeal which aims to raise vital funds to help give the gift of time and precious memories to families of dying children.
The funnyman said: “As parents ourselves now, the hearts of my wife and I go out more than ever to everyone at Robin House, Rachel House and all the children and families supported by CHAS services across Scotland.”
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CHAS CEO Rami Okasha said: “Kevin has visited our children’s hospice, Robin House at Balloch, several times over the years and his ongoing support is hugely appreciated.
“Each week in Scotland three children die from an incurable condition and CHAS can only be there for families with the support of kind donations like this. No one should have to face the death of a child alone and we provide unwavering care to children who may die young and their families, at every step on this hardest of journeys.
“Fundraising support makes a huge difference to children and families helping us to reach every family across Scotland who needs our care.”
In a video posted to his Instagram last week, Bridges, speaking from the banks of Loch Lomond urged his 460,000 followers to support the groups. In the clip, he listed the six different charities he is supporting.
In the post, he wrote: “Christmas can be a challenging time for a lot of people, for a lot of reasons, so I’m proud to be supporting these less established or lesser known charities who are doing great direct work with vulnerable members of their communities in my hometown of Clydebank and across Greater Glasgow.”
In the Instagram video, Bridges urged his fans to “read about the great work that they are doing, in a world where the p****s are reigning supreme”.
“It is good for the soul to know that these people are out there helping the vulnerable members of their community.”
The generous gesture left West Dunbartonshire Community Foodshare bowled over. They said: “Absolutely delighted to announce today that the charity has received an exceptional donation of £30,000 from Kevin Bridges.
“This will make a massive difference to the support we are able to offer families over Christmas time and through the winter months.
“Thank you so much Kevin Bridges, we really appreciate your support.”