10 fantastic years of care at Scotland’s second children’s hospice, Robin House

“HAPPY birthday, Robin House!”

That was the cry that rang out yesterday on the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond, home to Scotland’s second children’s hospice.

It’s hard to believe that 10 years have passed since the doors to this incredible place filled with equally incredible people opened for the first time.

And that they did was thanks in no small part to the kindness and energy of you, the readers of The Sunday Post.

Our long-running campaign raised a whopping £4.17 million towards the £10 million cost of building Robin House and what a decade it has been since then.

The hospice has gone from strength to strength, supporting countless families who have children with life-limiting conditions.

The work may be serious and sometimes sad, but have no doubt that this birthday is a happy one.

For Robin House is full of smiles and laughter.

Mum Kerryann McKenna, 30, from Johnstone, can vouch for that.

She has been visiting the house for the past seven years with her son, Kyle, who has a rare chromosome condition called Patau syndrome.

She says: “I always imagined a hospice to be a sad, terrifying place.

“I expected it to be just a corridor with rooms off it and it would be cold in a way, but it’s a warm-hearted place. An amazing place.

“I first came when Kyle was six months old and have never stopped coming!

“The staff and volunteers are amazing they’ll sit and talk to you about anything because they know the child so well. I trust them 100% we’re like one big family here.”

To say those staff and volunteers are committed is an understatement. They’re the backbone of Robin House.

Nurse Yvonne Caie, who has been at the hospice since it opened, said: “This is more than just a building. It’s all about the families, who are at the forefront of everything we do.

“I want to say a huge thank you to the Sunday Post readers who raised funds for the first campaign. Without them we wouldn’t be here.”

One of the famous faces who backed the original CHAS campaign and met several of the children and families who would go on to use it was Texas singer Sharleen Spiteri.

Speaking about the hospice’s 10th birthday she said: “I wish Robin House a very happy 10th Birthday!

“I’ve been fortunate to have worked with CHAS and Robin House since it opened.

“It’s a very special place and I’ve seen the incredible work carried out there which has been hugely inspiring for me.

“Like any parent, the wellbeing of my family is paramount to me and I see how invaluable Robin House is to the kids and their families as it offers a real home from home.

“I urge everyone to please support the work they do so they can continue for another 10 years and beyond”

We’re sure all will join us in wishing Robin House and everyone who uses it and works there a very happy birthday and many more of them!

And if you were one of those kind souls who helped make this birthday possible by digging deep all those years ago, we’d like to say a huge, heartfelt thank you.

The Sunday Post put Robin House on the road to success

The Sunday Post’s appeal to help raise funds for the construction of Robin House started in August 2001.

For the previous five years terminally-ill children had been cared for at Rachel House in Kinross.

The success of the remarkable facility was such that a second hospice was desperately needed.

Just six months in, generous Sunday Post readers had raised an astonishing £400,000, with a single donation of £75,000 coming from the Philip Green Memorial Trust.

That was just the start and within the first year of our campaign £1 million of backing had been received.

However, in 2002 planning objections to the proposed site of Robin House at Balloch on the banks of Loch Lomond put the whole project in jeopardy.

Thankfully, by December the National Park planning committee gave the green light to the hospice plans.

Then five months later superstar actor Ewan McGregor cut the first turf, signalling the start of Robin House’s construction.

Finally in June 2005 and with the incredible support of our readers who raised £4.17m, construction of the hospice was completed.

The success of The Sunday Post campaign and the efforts of our readers were also later recognised at the Scottish Press Awards.