Archie brings Christmas magic to Glenlaw House Dundee
Our Tayside team collaborated with dance theatre company Shaper/Caper and Glenlaw House in Dundee to bring some Christmas magic to children with severe and complex healthcare and medical needs.
Glenlaw House provides respite care for up to four children at a time and currently supports 31 families from across Dundee, Angus and Perth, providing an NHS service not offered anywhere else in Scotland. It has six beds, including one crisis bed, which has been used at least once a month for families in urgent need of help.
Organising trips for the children can be difficult so Archie arranged a festive treat which saw Dundee-based charity Shaper/Caper bringing its Snow Queen performance to Glenlaw House where children and their families were invited to experience a Christmas show in familiar and accessible surroundings.
Archie also created an Amazon Christmas List, carefully curated by Glenlaw House’s specialist team to feature gifts suited to the needs of the children – from audio stories to soothe at bedtime, funky patterned wheelchair covers or sensory lights and TV screens for bedrooms.
Fundraising is also underway to raise cash for a much-needed revamp of the unit’s existing Sensory Room.
Louise Barker, Charge Nurse with NHS Tayside’s Paediatric Complex Disability Service, said: “We are incredibly grateful to The Archie Foundation in Tayside for its support for Glenlaw House, and we are looking forward to developing our relationship with the team, who are passionate about understanding the needs of the children who access our respite care.
“Our children all have a range of medical conditions, most of which are life-limiting and require a range of medical interventions, such as feeding tubes, ventilation, oxygen therapy and suctioning.
“Respite gives families a well-earned break, while their child is cared for by paediatric nurses and health care support workers. We try to make it a home from home environment but also a time to have lots of fun with the best experience. Everyone had a great time at the Shaper/Caper show.”
Rebecca Duncan, The Archie Foundation’s Business Development and Fundraising Manager in Tayside , said it was honoured to be able to provide much-needed support.
“Through building relationships with the staff and parents and carers support group at Glenlaw House, we know they have faced around taking the children out on trips due to issues with accessible toilets, taxi provision and changing places facilities,” she said.
“In response we are pleased to have collaborated with Shaper/Caper to bring a performance of the Snow Queen into Glenlaw House for families to experience something special this Christmas in a location which is a trusted, accessible and comfortable space for them.
“Archie is very grateful to our supporters who help us to provide financial and emergency grants to support families of babies and children here in Tayside when they need it most. Alongside our ongoing work at the Tayside Children’s Hospital at Ninewells and across the whole area, we are looking forward to continuing to work with Glenlaw House and raising money to redevelop its vital sensory room in 2025.”
Shaper/Caper is a dance-theatre charity which provides services that help overcome barriers to accessing dance and theatre, bringing productions and participatory works into alternative settings through its Theatre in the Community strand.
It partners with NHS Tayside to deliver health awareness workshops in 116 primary schools each year and lead the Dance for Parkinson’s Scotland programme in Dundee and Fife, among many other initiatives.
Executive director Yolanda Aguilar said: “We are thrilled to partner with The Archie Foundation to deliver our Christmas production The Snow Queen to children and families at this time of the year. We have aligned purposes to reach those people needing a bit of season’s cheering and joy. We are looking forward to both bringing creativity to audiences and developing a partnership with the Archie Foundation for future opportunities.”
Merry Christmas to all the families at Glenlaw House from all the team at The Archie Foundation!
