London Scottish is delighted to announce that The ARCHIE Foundation will be the official charity partner for this year’s St. Andrew’s Day Lunch at the Savoy being held on Friday 25th November.

The Charity, which has the aim to make a difference for sick children and their families in hospital and in the community. They do this by providing the extras, over and above the care provided by the NHS, which make their experience as good as it can be.

These extras can include improved environment, specialist equipment, advanced staff training, additional specialist staff, parent accommodation, emergency grants, toys and play, arts and crafts, education, entertainment and anything which will make a difference and is not NHS core funded.

The St. Andrew’s Day lunch is one of the highlights in the London Scottish calendar, and this year promises to be one of the best yet.

This year, the Great London Scot awards being presented to four iconic Scots:

Sir Ian Wood GBE, Dr Katherine Grainger CBE, Jamie Murray OBE and Gordon Reid will all be receiving the prestigious awards.

The ARCHIE Foundation was first formed in Aberdeen in 2000 to raise money to ‘make the difference’ between a new children’s hospital planned by NHS Grampian and a world-class facility for sick children and their families. Fundamental changes were incorporated into the plans such as:

• Each child’s room being built one metre wider to accommodate a fold down bed for a parent to sleep on, instead of just a reclining chair for overnight stays 
• A 20 bedroom parents’ accommodation block was added, enabling families to stay close to very sick children, fully funded by ARCHIe and free for parents to use
• A multi-faith chapel and a quiet area for times of reflection
• A parent’s lounge for time out away from the bedside
• Play areas for the children, both indoor and outdoor
• A fully operational classroom teaching up to Senior level 5
• Artwork throughout to create child friendly environments 

The charity has also funded specialist staff, advanced staff training, specialist equipment, emergency grants and much more. 

The ARCHIE Foundation has become a trusted brand in fundraising for child healthcare, always promoting its desire to ‘make the difference’ for local sick children in every area in which it operates.

For more information visit www.archiefoundation.org.uk 

David Cunningham, Chief Executive  of the ARCHIE Foundation, is thrilled to be part of the St Andrew’s Day celebrations: “We were delighted to be nominated as this year’s charity of the London Scottish St Andrew’s day at the Savoy. Many people at the event will know families who have used the children’s hospital services in Aberdeen, Inverness and Tayside and many have also supported The ARCHIE Foundation over the years. We are incredibly grateful to Sir David and everybody at London Scottish for helping us to make the difference for sick children in the North of Scotland and we are very much looking forward what promises to be a brilliant day.”

Rod Lynch, London Scottish President is looking forward to welcoming the Foundation to the Savoy. “London Scottish is proud to partner with the Archie Foundation for the St Andrew’s Day event this year. It would be hard to think of a more deserving cause.”

There are still some tables left for the annual luncheon from midday on Friday 25th November – now in its fourth year. A 300-strong sell out hosted by Sir David Reid is expected, so to book your place please email fiona.strongman@btinternet.com