Aberdeen

First's Charity Cheer for North-East Children

Directors from city bus operator, First in Aberdeen, brought some cheer to young people supported by north-east cancer charity CLAN (Cancer Link Aberdeen & North) this weekend thanks to funding provided by its parent organisation FirstGroup " the worlds leading transport company.

The bus operator joined cancer charity, Cancer Recovery Foundation UK, to distribute special ‘Bear-able gift bags " funded by Firsts Charities and Sponsorship Committee " to the young people. The committee was set up last year to consider requests for funding and gifts from groups and organisations across the country. It aims to provide charitable support in line with three specific criteria " young people, health and the environment.

The committee awarded a total of £6,000 to Cancer Recovery Foundation UK for the gift bags, which are designed to bring cheer and joy to children living with cancer or, in the case of Aberdeen, whose family members are living with cancer.

The bags are designed to appeal to a range of ages and contain a variety of goodies including Cancer Recovery Foundation UKs much-loved ‘bear-able teddies, t-shirts, colouring books, crayons, diaries, activity kits, action figures, sudoku and wordsearch books, toy cars, and slippers. In Aberdeen, Firsts funding will also be used to support CLANs ongoing work in the north-east through Cancer Recovery Foundation UK.

First in Aberdeens Managing Director, George Mair, and Commercial Director, Joe Mackie were among the First representatives who visited the White Space project in the city, where the young people enjoyed a fun afternoon out. George and Joe said: "It is inspiring to see the fun and enjoyment the children get out of these gift bags and the support they find in the other books and materials provided and we are delighted that First is supporting such a fantastic cause.

"Dealing with cancer in a family is difficult at any age, but must be especially hard for younger people and its great to see the work that CLAN and now Cancer Recovery Foundation UK are doing to take their minds off things at home.

"Having a chance to play a part in that has been a real honour and we are extremely proud that FirstGroup has been able to assist such a worthy project, which will benefit hundreds of children. This shows that First is not just helping to transform travel " we are helping to transform lives.'

Jim Moore, Scottish Director of Cancer Recovery Foundation UK, said: "Thanks to the funding from First, we have now extended the Gift Bags Programme " which has proven to be a success elsewhere " into Scotland.

"It is an important part of our holistic approach to supporting families living with cancer, which focuses on the provision of education, services and direct care to meet not just their physical needs, but the emotional and financial needs of those living with cancer today. And its been great to team up with CLAN which does some terrific work in the north-east " we have been very impressed with what theyre doing and are keen to share ideas and best practice to support families throughout the UK.

"We are so grateful to FirstGroup for this financial support, which will make a terrific difference for young people in Scotland. A little gift certainly goes a very long way as we know and thanks to First we can distribute our gifts to those who need them most.'

Eileen Wheeler, Services Development Manager with CLAN, added: "These gift bags and books have given the kids we support a great boost " they really appreciate them. We are very grateful to Cancer Recovery Foundation UK and First for these terrific gifts and its great to see the smiles they put on the childrens faces. We look forward to continuing a positive partnership with both organisations to help those living with cancer in the north-east of Scotland.'