Edinburgh’s Eric Liddell Centre struggles to stay open after losing £165,000 of income

The well-known Edinburgh institution, named after the world famous Olympian from Edinburgh, has provided care and support to people living with dementia since 1980.

CEO of the charity John MacMillian with his dog Blu are fundraising for the centre.

Since lockdown hit the Capital the charities Morningside building has been closed and many regular fundraising activities have been halted.

Coronavirus restrictions have caused losses of more than £15,000 per month and the charity has lost a total of £165,000 since the pandemic began.

To safeguard the centre’s future CEO of the charity John MacMillian has asked local people to help fundraise ahead of the Kiltwalk and hopes that they will surpass the £17,000 raised last year.

Mr MacMillian said: “I would like to invite anyone who would like to help to sign up for our team in this year’s virtual Kiltwalk. We will both be there again this year and look forward to completing the challenge.

“You can walk, run or even boogie your way to raise funds for the Eric Liddell Centre. We hope many ambitious individuals will join the team and together we can achieve our aim to raise more funds for the centre than we did last year.

“Our continuous support is vital for our vulnerable clients across Edinburgh who rely on us, especially during the past year since the pandemic hit us.”

Despite the difficulties the charity has faced it has continued to provide alternative services for many vulnerable people including regular telephone contact and a range of online activities.

The centre has also run two food initiatives, collected prescriptions and carried out other services to help clients.

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