Euro lotto winners come to the rescue of town charity

Oct 10 2012 by Lynda Nicol, East Kilbride News

Scotlands Euromillionaires Chris and Colin Weir have joined a community-wide effort to keep East Kilbrides only voluntary carers group for people with dementia on the road.

The pair have made a fantastic s15,000 donation towards a much-needed mini-bus for East Kilbride and District Dementia Carers Group.

The group, who are based at Pine Crescent in Greenhills, were frantic after the mini-bus they used to get clients to and from the centre reached the end of the road.

For the past few weeks they have been relying on temporary transport as they scrambled to raise the cash needed to fund a replacement.

The groups coordinator Brian Doig approached the couple from Largs and was bowled over when they said they would make a s15,000 donation.

With Chris and Colins cash, the charity have been able to order the new bus and can now focus all their fundraising efforts on ensuring the group has the s50,000 running costs it needs each year.

Brian said: Our old bus was used for over 250 trips and outings last year and travelled over 104,000 miles. It was a lifeline, ensuring that the people who come to us can remain an active part of the community, but it had to be scrapped.

Since then the fundraising has really stepped up weve even had a sponsored leg and chest wax and the support weve been shown from all parts of the community has been quite humbling.

Chris Weir said: We were delighted to make a donation to the minibus fund hoping that getting the group on the road would provide them with a welcome boost to keep the service alive.