Caring For Kids

"The business of making a difference"

by Maureen Young

Imagine being the only youngster at primary school with no proper shoes, no winter coat to guard against the Scottish chill and no carpet or adequate bedding to go home to.

Imagine being trapped in a young body so disabled the only way to move or communicate is by state of the art technology.

Imagine giving up your childhood to care for an adult relative or desperately needing equipment to allow you and your friends to take up sports and hobbies instead of hanging round street corners.

And imagine the wonderful world that could open up to a needy youngster if only specialised medical, recreational or educational facilities were available.

Here in Perth and Kinross there is a charity which has no need to imagine these scenarios. They are dealing with children just like this every day of the year.

And - thanks to people like YOU - they’re able to help.

Caring For Kids is Radio Tay’s listeners’ very own charity. A charity established 25 years ago to channel the caring of a big-hearted community into the welfare of their own youngsters.

Every day throughout Tayside and Fife, people are working together to give local children a better and brighter future. And their fundraising, generosity and compassion allows Caring For Kids to assist around 12,000 children and young people most in need or at risk every year.

With cash raised locally and spent locally, Caring For Kids guarantees fundraisers that their generous donation will go to bring, hope, healing or happiness to someone in their local communities. Every pound and pence could help a youngster in the neighbouring village, a kid at your local school or a toddler in your own street.

Each year Caring For Kids reaches into the darkest corners and turns on the lights. With the public’s help they can light up the lives of even more children in this area. Your effort can turn tears into laughter, your generosity can rescue dignity from despair and your support can break down barriers to create a brighter future for all our young people.

And this year the charity is celebrating another record-breaking fundraising 12 months with a massive £206,000 available for allocation early in the New Year.

Charity co-ordinator Alastair Brookes from Perth is ecstatic at the way the public have taken Caring For Kids to their hearts.

“People know the money they raise will go to help children most at need in this area,” he said. “Caring For Kids highlights the need for money to be spent right here on our doorstep and the public always respond magnificently.

“We all like to think there are no youngsters suffering within our communities but sadly we don’t live in a perfect world and, as long as there are children who need help, Caring For Kids will be working to ease their plight.”

Caring For Kids tackles a whole host of problems faced by local children head on in the public’s name. Fundraisers provide the means to give local children a better future and put smiles on thousands of young faces each year.

And, unlike many charities with high administration costs, a massive 93 pence of every pound raised goes direct to help our Tay territory youngsters.

The charity covers the whole of Tayside and North Fife but fundraisers in Perth and Kinross can rest assured their efforts can help youngsters closer to home.

“Every year our trustees consider hundreds of applications for funds from groups and individuals,” explained Alastair. “And many of those relate to children in Perth and Kinross.

“We try to reach out to every corner of our area and businesses and individuals in Perth and Kinross have been quick to realise this and to adopt Caring For Kids as their chosen charity because it makes a difference close to home.”