The Archie Foundation picked up the Making the Difference award at this year's Northern Star Business Awards, and were presented the title by sponsored by Balmoral.
The Archie Foundation exists to make a difference in healthcare and bereavement for children and their families across the North of Scotland.
The charity works closely with NHS Grampian to ensure patients and families of Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital (RACH) don’t have to face the financial burden of frequent, often long-distance travel to appointments alone.
It offers emergency financial support and operates the Archie Family Centre at RACH so families can stay near their children 24/7 during their treatment. The longest staying family spent 15 months in the facility while another estimated they saved £15,000 on hotel costs they would otherwise have incurred.
It delivers the Archie’s Child Bereavement Service (ACBS) to help young people manage the grief of losing a loved one. It further supports neonatal services, including funding for essential equipment like breast pumps and incubators, overnight accommodation, staff training, and counselling.
Archie has also provided financial support for staff and patients for many years, but this has now become top of its priorities.
This includes grant funding to cover the unexpected costs of a child in hospital such as fuel or a parent’s reduced working hours.
Over 30,000 children rely on services the Archie Foundation supports. This means one out of three children in our community directly benefits from the charity’s initiatives each year.
The collective impact of dedicated volunteers – from fundraisers to bereavement responders to its trustee board members - has helped all areas of the charity, allowing it to operate more efficiently and expand its reach.
The entire Archie team work tirelessly to ensure the charity’s success and to help children and families in times of need.
The Finalists
- Aberdeen International Airport
- AberNecessities
- Kayleigh's Wee Stars
- TechFest
Click here to view the finalists video.
About the sponsor
Established in 1980 by chairman and MD, Sir James Milne CBE, Balmoral Group is an independent multi-discipline design and manufacturing company comprising several divisions. At Group HQ in Aberdeen the company has created an industry-leading product design and manufacturing facility that includes laboratory, design engineering, production, and testing facilities focused on the offshore energy sector.