Braveheart Foundation secure dream holiday home for families

Mar 8 2013 by Sandy Clarke, Irvine Herald

The Zak Scott Braveheart Foundation has secured a dream holiday caravan for Yorkhill hospital families.

Delighted Roslyn Scott – Zak’s mum – picked up the keys to the three-bedroom luxury caravan last week at Auchenlarie holiday park in Dumfries.

It was a double-whammy for the foundation as it raised a whopping £4000 following a host of events at the weekend.

Now, families of children who attend Yorkhill hospital will be able to use the holiday home to spend some quality time together.

Roslyn, 39, said, “It’s amazing to finally have the holiday home for families to get away from the stress of what they deal with day in, day out. My own family knows how difficult things can sometimes get, and we found that getting away together made a massive difference for us.”

It is hoped that the holiday home will be ready and available for use for the start of summer.

Zak’s gran, Sally Rodgers, said: “We’ll liaise with the staff at Yorkhill hospital who will help us to organise a schedule for the families to get away.

“It’s been hard work to get to this point, but it’s an incredible achievement that’s been made possible with the help of so many people we can’t thank enough.”

The caravan will be provided free to families for the duration of their holiday.

Last weekend, the foundation ran a number of well-attended events to raise cash to provide wishes for Yorkhill kids. A family bingo night at Castlepark Community Centre saw £350 raised.

On Saturday, volunteers flocked to Tesco to take part in a bag-packing event, raising £680.

On Sunday, the Marress Sports Club played host to the foundation as it held a family fun-day and sponsored firewalk, raising a massive £3000.

Irvine company Early Bird Social Media helped to raise awareness by running a live-tweet event throughout the day.

Roslyn said: “Everyone has worked so hard over the weekend and to raise the amount of money we have is just mind-blowing.

“To be honest, I’m still shaking from buying the caravan – the events at the weekend have topped an incredible week; it’s all still sinking in.”

Last week also saw the foundation hold its first AGM, where a board of trustees was put in place to carry the foundation forward.

Sally, 58, said: “Zak’s foundation has really taken off – we never expected to get so big so quickly, which is why we felt the need for more people to come on board.”

To find out more about the foundation, visit www.zakscottbraveheartfoundation.org.uk