Scottish Gas staff to raise £50,000 for CHAS through unique charity partnership

David Robertson, Head of Customer Delivery at Scottish Gas, is not letting his fear of heights stop him taking part in a sponsored skydive at Fife Airport in Glenrothes on 20 June.

As part of a new unique partnership between the energy and services provider and Children's Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS), Scottish Gas, which has a workforce of over 1,000, has pledged to raise £50,000 for the charity over the course of the year. Many of David’s colleagues have also signed up for fundraising challenges to help keep the joy alive for children with life shortening conditions and their families across Scotland. 

Speaking about his forthcoming skydive, David, who lives in East Wemyss in Fife with his wife and two children, said: “I’m not scared of many things but I do have a fear of heights so this is definitely out of my comfort zone. Because of that, I’ve been getting a lot of laughs from colleagues and family and friends who can’t believe I’ve actually signed up to throw myself out of a plane!

“It’s all for a fantastic cause though and I’m more than happy to do it to help raise as much as I can for CHAS.”

David’s colleagues are also keen to join in the fundraising drive and £2,000 has already been raised following a race night at Hamilton Park Racecourse. The company also plans to help the charity through staff volunteering days.

David said: “Our team at Scottish Gas have been inspired by the work of CHAS and we want to support the charity through this truly transformational partnership which opens up skills-based volunteering opportunities for staff while also enabling them to become personally involved in fundraising.

“Our teams have an array of technical skills that can be put to great use supporting CHAS and their families. By working together we know we can make a real difference to the lives of children and families across Scotland and as a team we are fully committed to achieving that by hitting our £50,000 target.”

As well as the skydive, David has signed up to run the Edinburgh Marathon in May. Other events Scottish Gas colleagues are participating in for CHAS include the Great North Run, the Forth Rail Bridge Abseil and Kiltwalks across Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen. Employees are also organising football tournaments, golf days and many other events, all in aid of CHAS.

Megan Stobo, Senior Corporate Partnerships Executive at CHAS, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be working in partnership with the Scottish Gas team this year. This is a truly unique partnership that will positively impact the lives of children and families across Scotland.

“Not only have the team committed to raising £50,000 to help fund our expanding services, but they recognise the value they can add by using their skills and experience to help maintain our sites across the country and we are also looking into the direct support they can provide to CHAS families.

“We rely on partnerships like this to support our mission of reaching every single baby, child and young person in Scotland with a life shortening condition and we are so grateful to every single member of the Scottish Gas team for getting behind CHAS and driving the partnership forward.

“We currently support over 450 families through our hospices, expanding hospital services and growing CHAS at Home Teams and are committed to making sure that no matter how little time families have together, it is packed full of joy and precious memories.”