Airport raises more than £62k for north-east charity partners
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Aberdeen International Airport has donated more than £62,000 to its current charity partners.
The two-year partnership between the airport, Kayleigh’s Wee Stars and We Too! is set to come to an end this month.
Employees at the north-east’s biggest transport hub pick the charity partners through a staff vote.
Several fundraising activities have taken place at the award-winning terminal including 400 people taking part in the unique runway run.
The airport, which was named Hub of the Year at the National Transport Awards in October will be announcing its latest charity partner in the new year.
Phionna McInnes, chief executive of We Too!, said: “The partnership with Aberdeen International has meant a lot to our charity.
“An incredible amount of money has been raised which has allowed us to continue our work empowering families and carers of children with additional support needs.
“I’d like to thank every traveller and staff member who had donated or taken part in an event, your support has made a huge difference to our families.”
Fiona Heinonen, CEO of Kayleigh’s Wee Stars, said: “We cannot thank everyone involved in this special partnership enough for their generosity over the past two years.
"It has truly made a world of difference to us and the families we support.
“Being part of huge events like the Aberdeen Runway Run has been incredible.
“Through our partnership and donations like the collection globes we have continued to provide vital support to families where there is a child with a terminal illness.
"We’re overwhelmed with the support the team at Aberdeen International Airport has shown to us and We Too.”
Kind-hearted travellers through the airport have also helped raised more than £5000 during this partnership.
Four collection globes positioned across the terminal allow passengers to donate any left-over currency.
Installed in 2022 the money has been donated to the airport’s current charity partners Kayleigh’s Wee Stars and We Too!
Dozens of global currencies were donated by passengers including Swiss Francs, Georgian Lari, Chilean Peso, Qatar Riyals and Barbados Dollars.
The top five currencies collected outside of British pound donations were:
- The Euro
- US Dollar
- Norwegian Krone
- Azerbaijan Manat
- Polish Zloty
Mark Beveridge, operations director at Aberdeen International Airport said: “On behalf of the airport, I want to thank all of our passengers for their generosity through our collection globes.
“We know how vital these funds have been to our charity partners and what great use they have put the donations to.
“If you are travelling through the airport and have leftover currency, we know a donation will be greatly received.”
Kayleigh’s Wee Stars provides support to families where there is a child with a terminal illness through providing financial grants.
Many families face increasing costs and unpaid time off work when caring for a terminally ill child.
Each grant is used to ease the financial burden on families during what is already an impossible situation so they can spend time with their child without the worry of money and make precious memories together.
We Too! is a customer driven organisation empowering families of children with life-long, predominately hidden disabilities, such as Autism, ADHD, Tourette’s and Epilepsy by providing a free, quarterly What’s On guide for families, peer support, a monthly children’s club and a school holiday programme as well as bespoke ASN/customer service training to other organisations to help them host relaxed/sensory adapted sessions in the community.
