As a family we have personally benefited from this local charity - a winter-break to the Centre Parc near Penrith in 2010 has provided us with some lovely memories and photographs. Below are some details about the charity, with contact details should anyone want to donate directly, or apply.
The
Adamson Trust
So often we say that
something is “Too good to be true” and “where is the catch ?”
However just occasionally there is no catch. Would you believe
that there is a local children’s charity with its base in Crieff,
Perthshire, which hands out money and that this charity is struggling
to find enough local people who are actually applying for help?
Well of course there
are a few strings attached! The Adamson Trust, a charitable trust
was set up in 1947 by Agnes Adamson, a Crieff resident, with an
endowment of £10,000 to buy and support a respite home or a holiday
home for disabled children. The Trustees at the time decided not to
purchase premises and in fact it never bought a home. Instead over
the years the Trust has financed holidays and respite breaks for
children, children with a whole range of illnesses and difficulties.
The original £10,000 has grown magnificently through careful
nurturing by the Trustees. Since 2002 it has become much more
active in letting people know of its existence and has increased the
amount it has paid out to deserving children and their carers from
£6,380 in 2002 to the present level of around £70,000 per annum.
This money has been paid by grants to applicants from all over the
UK. Several grants are paid each year to other charitable groups
who care for children, but there are many individual grants made to
families, and in this way the whole family can be helped to take a
much needed holiday or a short respite break.
The recent increase in
the trust’s activities is quite remarkable: in 2002 it made grants
to 18 people or organisations totalling £6,380. By 2010 it was
able to make 109 awards totalling £74,235. The average grant to
individuals comes to about £450. It would give the Trustees great
satisfaction if much more of this money could go to local families.
It does seem a pity that more local people are not aware of this
help available right on their doorstep. The current Trustees are
all from the Crieff area and meet four times a year to consider
applications and make awards. The Trust gets applications from all
over the UK for mentally or physically disabled children to assist in
a holiday or a respite break.
Application forms
together with the Trust’s conditions are available from the Trust’s
administrator at : The Adamson Trust, P O Box 26334, Crieff,
Perthshire PH7 9AB. The conditions for receiving a grant from the
Trust are straightforward – the child must be under 18, there must
be evidence of a disability of some kind and the money must be spent
on a holiday or respite care - and should not discourage anyone from
applying.