Countdown to the 50th Consecutive Donation: No. 12 – Austria 17/08/2005

The task of finding an organisation to donate to in Graz was made considerably easier by having footsoldier Mark (Dicko) Dickson living and working there.  With some assistance from a colleague of Mark`s,  Steirische Kinderkrebshilfe was identified.  This was a regional charity which assisted children with cancer and their families.  Once contact had been made, they were able to indicate some of the things the Sunshine Appeal donation would allow them to buy.  They needed one if not two buggies, memory cards for playstations, various puzzles and games and baby toys.

On match day a group of footsoldiers attended the Children`s Cancer Ward in the hospital in Graz and presented an oversize cheque from the Tartan Army Sunshine Appeal.  The company Mark is employed by wanted to supplement the Sunshine Appeal donation by 500 euros.  This news was welcomed and it was expected this would allow another hi-spec buggy to be bought for babies and toddlers having to attend hospital.  Full Story Here…

Everywhere We Go!

Countdown to the 50th Consecutive Donation: No. 11 – Belarus 08/06/2005

The TASA party gathered at the Hotel Belarus in Minsk on matchday where the sight was of people piling out of full lifts most with bags, dropping them in a pile in the centre of the lobby.  This truly incredible sight was repeated time and time again over the following 30 minutes!!

Thirty or so people, plus 100s of bags were loaded onto the bus for the trip out to the Cancer Hospital on the outskirts of Minsk. The British Ambassador for Belarus also met the party in the Hospital. Time was spent in a theatre room with some of the children who were well enough to move, where they were given a basic set of toiletries, some toys, plus Cola and Irn Bru.

After the party had finished there was a tour round the hospital to see the facilities, meet the children and make sure each child got a donation of some sort.  As for the cash donation, the entire Sunshine Appeal donation went into the development of the summer camps in Belarus. Of Neil’s HBOS donation, 50% went to the Central fund for the summer camps and the remainder went to the Chernobyl Children Lifeline’s Edinburgh Link fund towards the cost of bringing the Children over from Belarus every summer.  Full Story Here…

Everywhere We go!

Countdown to the 50th Consecutive Donation: No. 10 – Italy 25/03/2005

A group of footsoldiers visited the Clinica Pediatrica De Marchi in Milan to make a donation to their charity – Fondazione G e D De Marchi.

An initial donation of 1,500 euros was presented from the Sunshine Appeal funds to help with the provision of a sterile room. When built, this room will be used to aid oncology patients during their chemotherapy treatment and other children with low immunity.

In addition, other members of the Tartan Army Message Board helped provide easter eggs and gifts for the children in the ward during our visit. At the request of the hospital staff, we left the easter eggs with them to divide out amongst the children that are allowed to eat chocolate.

The children were all staying in small rooms with only one or two occupants, so we visited every child and left them with a gift and an ‘I’ve met the Tartan Army’ badge. Hospital staff explained to each child who we were and why we were there. Each child was asked who would win the game the next night – Italy or Scotland. Bless them – the majority opted for Scotland – oh, the optimism of youth!  Full Story Here…

Everywhere We Go!

Countdown to the 50th Consecutive Donation: No. 9 – Moldova 13/10/2004

Part 1
Several Sunshine Appeal representatives met up with Katy Low and Duncan Kirk of the CWUHA  Tiraspol Playground Appeal to hand over a cheque for £1000 to build a safe playground for the kids in the psycho-neurological hospital in Tiraspol. As most of the Tartan Army would not be arriving in Tiraspol until a few hours before the match, and because the CWUHA people are based in the UK rather than in Moldova/Transnistria, a decision was taken to make the presentation here in Scotland before they set off on their next convoy to Moldova at the start of September. We did the presentation in the centre of Edinburgh with the Old Town looking particularly photogenic in the background – more, perhaps, than can be said for the Sunshine Appeal representatives!

Part 2
Bright and early on match day a group of 32 Tartan Army footsoldiers assembled outside the Dublin Bar in Chisinau, ready to be collected by OutReach Moldova’s bus for our journey out to the Hincesti Orphanage. The Sunshine Appeal donation will be used both at Hincesti and at the baby orphanage that OutReach Moldova have recently taken over.

After spending almost two hours meeting the children, they headed back outside into the sunshine to get the formalities of the cheque handover done. As well as presenting OutReach with the main Sunshine Appeal donation of $2000, they handed over several other donations, including a cheque for £250 from the cancelled Tiraspol buses and donations from Neil MacDonald and MKScot. Finally, they presented them with a plaque that JimfaeKdy had made for the occasion – something to keep in the office to remember the day the “men in dresses” (a quote from one of the kids!) came to visit.   Full Story Here…

Everywhere We Go!

Countdown to the 50th Consecutive Donation: No. 8 – Spain 03/09/2004

A squad of 10 footsoldiers turned out for the cheque presentation to Aspanion. A charity that works with children who have cancer, and offer help to their families.

They were met by Lisbet of Aspanion and taken to a flat within the tower blocks where the charity had laid on a reception for them. A group of around 20 parents, children and representatives of the charity welcomed the Sunshine Appeal with a selection of refreshments – certain footsoldiers weren’t too impressed with the low alcohol lager on offer! Obviously our reputation is well-known as our hosts felt compelled to explain they didn’t like to drink proper alcohol around the children.

Mazz presented the cheque whilst Winky delivered a speech in Spanish to outline the reasons why the Sunshine Appeal had been established and its aims. The President of Aspanion, Jesus Gonzalez Marin then gave a speech to thank the Sunshine Appeal and express his gratitude that football fans felt driven to help in this way.

The children were clearly bemused by our appearance but made the most of the crisps, biscuits and juice on offer. Knowing what a serious illness these kids are facing, it’s a very humbling experience to see them getting on with life and just being kids – playing games and sneaking food when the adults weren’t looking. A few of them even had a small football game – which had a higher score line than the real thing later that day!   Full Story Here…

Everywhere We Go!