SME UK Enterprise Awards 2024/ 124 Best Children’s Cancer Accommodation Support Charity 2024 - Scotland Calums Cabin From its home base in Rothesay on Scotland’s beautiful Isle of Bute, Calums Cabin supports those families who have a child battling cancer, providing them with either holiday home accommodation or a semi-permanent residency near Glasgow’s premier cancer facilities. Helping more than 220 families every year with their accommodation needs, the work that this charity does is nothing short of incredible, putting families first and catering to their individual requirements. Calums Cabin is the legacy of Calum Speirs, a young man who passed away in early 2007 from an inoperable brain tumour he had been diagnosed with 13 months prior. Throughout Calum’s valiant battle, he served as an inspiration to those around him, and he could always be seen laughing and with a smile on his face. Even though he was going through one of the hardest things a person could ever face, Calum’s selflessness continued to shine through, and his focus was always on those around him. Having heard many sad stories whilst he was in hospital, Calum came up with the idea of “Calums Caravan”, accommodation that would allow children with cancer and their families to escape to his awe-inspiring hometown of Rothesay for a much-needed vacation. Fundraising for this remarkable project began shortly after but was put on hold as Calum’s condition worsened. At Calum’s service on 21st February 2007, a collection was started to renew this fundraiser, with just short of £3,500 being raised. The next day, Calum’s family, including his Mum, Dad, and twin sister Jenna, went to view a caravan that was for sale. In the field just next door, a number of cabins were being built, giving the family an idea. Fortifying their fundraising efforts, the family had enough to fund the building of a cabin just a few months later. Securing a peppercorn rent on the land for only £1 per year, a few bumps in the road concerning construction would not stop the Speirs, and Calum’s twin sister formally opened the cabin in February 2009. Calums Cabin was born, and two years to the date of Calum’s passing, his cabin welcomed its first family. Over the next couple of years, demand was so great that the family purchased additional accommodation, beginning with the Calums Cabin Cottage, which opened in March 2012. Today, the charity possesses additional accommodation throughout the Isle of Bute, with five holiday properties in total, as well as a number of Glasgow flats, the first of which was bought by Calums Cabin back in 2017. Situated just a stone’s throw from Scotland’s main cancer treatment centres in the heart of Glasgow, these flats, of which there are now ten, can support multiple families, allowing them to be together during these incredibly trying times. Children may have to stay in hospital for anything from six weeks to 22 months, so Calums Cabin offers them the ideal home from home, a relaxing and comfortable self-catering environment. Through these flats, families need no longer worry about mounting accommodation or travel costs. Besides the support it provides through its stunning accommodation, Calums Cabin also offers families weekly mindfulness sessions, again underpinning the charity’s commitment to helping others in their time of need. Its ability to do so can be attributed to the incredible support that it receives from individuals, groups, and organisations. “Calums Cabin is a lasting memory of Calum. Were it not for Calum paying the ultimate price and the determination of Duncan, Caroline and Jenna, Calums Cabin would not be here, helping the number of families it is today.” Calum loved to play Monopoly, and he would certainly be proud of all of the properties that his family have collected in his honour over the past 17 years, each of which contributes immeasurably to aiding a family that are going through the unthinkable. For the difference it continues to make in the lives of so many people, we proudly name Calums Cabin as the Best Children’s Cancer Accommodation Support Charity 2024 – Scotland, urging our readers to check out the charity and donate where they can. Contact: Caroline Speirs Company: Calums Cabin Web Address: https://www.calumscabin.com/
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