A Christmas village collector of 20 years has donated his entire collection, worth £10,000, to a children's charity
A tinsel town has brought festive magic to the children a charity supports.
A Christmas village collector of 20 years was so touched by the recent festive appeal by Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS) that he has donated his entire collection, estimated at some £10,000 in value, to its two hospices in Kinross and Balloch.
Kenny Henderson, 59-year-old managing director of a gas engineering company from Bothwell, Glasgow, stopped by to construct the tinsel town at Rachel House and donated £500 for the upkeep. The father and grandfather caught the bug when his children were little, developing a gigantic display which he estimates would take three days to construct from scratch.
Henderson said: “Like many, I love this time of year; our house is always awash with lights and reindeer… you can probably see it from space! Pride of place in our house is this magical Christmas town that I’ve slowly collected and built over the last two decades. My children and grandchildren have been able to appreciate it for many years now, so I’ve been thinking about donating the whole set for other kids to enjoy for a while.
“When I was out driving last week I heard a radio advert for the new CHAS festive appeal, which talks about how the staff often bring Christmas forward for the children who won’t be with us on the 25. After I wiped away the tears, it dawned on me that this was the place to give the set to. I’m delighted that it will bring joy to the children and families who use these very special places.”
Donna Nicoll, activities facilitator at Rachel House, said: “We’re bowled over that Kenny and his family have made such a lovely and hugely generous donation. A lot of love has obviously gone into it over the years – it’s in immaculate condition and looks especially magical with the lights out. The tinsel town has only been up five minutes and it’s made a huge impression on some of the children who are in residence. I know it’s going to become a Rachel House staple every year now.”
In Scotland, nearly 16,000 children and young people live with life-shortening conditions and CHAS is determined to reach every family who needs its services. CHAS works across Scotland, able to provides its hospice services nation-wide for babies, children and young people with life-shortening conditions. CHAS offers palliative, respite and end-of-life care from Rachel House in Kinross and Robin House in Balloch.
The CHAS at Home service supports families with the services of a hospice yet in their own homes across the whole of Scotland. Through its Diana Children’s Nurses working in hospitals across the country they can support families and clinical teams.
