SKYE & LOCHALSH YOUNG CARERS HISTORY
2021
Following 14 months of lockdown we were able to start having our face to face group sessions in May followed by our full programme of summer respites. This was much needed by all of our young carers to give them the support and breaks they deserve. We were also able to go on our annual 3 night Edinburgh residential respite which was thoroughly enjoyed by all.
2022
- We worked in partnership with SEALL. We loved working with Richey Carey to learn about sound and we produced our album – Sounding Stuff Out
- We were visited by Bryan Burnett from BBC Scotland who interviewed three of our young carers. They discovered how long a journey it is from the central belt to Skye!
- We were back taking part in the Great Wilderness Challenge and as always we were made very welcome and we were able to raise funds thanks to local sponsorship
- Thanks to kind donations and fundraising we were able to purchase a plot of land to enable us to build a bespoke home for the service
2023
- We worked together to identify what would be most important for a new building for us
- We started working with architects and applying for funding to get to the planning permission stage
- Cuillin Competitions kindly donated the proceeds from one of their competitions to us
- We took part in activities for Fire Safety week which included us using a blindfold and smoke machine to try and escape!
- Portree Primary School held a community cafe to raise funds for us
- We were delighted to welcome The Lord Lieutenant for Skye, Ross and Cromarty, Mrs Joanie Whiteford and her Depute Mrs Norma Young to Victoria Cottage. The young carers enjoyed both asking and answering questions
2024
- We really enjoyed a trip to Gasta (Las) to learn about kitchen hygiene and we were delighted to then get to make our own pizzas
- We launced our SLIDE card. The aim of this was to help raise us funds and also to enable locals to get discounts with local businesses.
- We worked closely with a number of different services this year to continue to develop our skills and confidence. Services included RNLI, the Fire Brigade (SFRS), Police Scotland, Speech & Language Therapy and GPs.
- We attended an awareness raising event in Inverness with Caithness KLICS Young Carers and TYKES Young Carers Sutherland. It was great all working together and getting to share the same messages with other services.
- We re-launched our Christmas cards. We had great fun working with Jo Empson designing the cards.
2025
- After successful funding applications we have been able to submit plans for our new building. We are all very excited about this but the hardest work is yet to come…..raising funds to actually build it!
- We were excited to share our anniversary year with the local community with a fun day and ceilidh.
- The exciting launch of our limited edition 25th anniversary candles. We are very grateful to Skye Candles for their support with this.
