It’s Glasgow v Edinburgh as NHS heroes compete in charity fundraising challenge

Glasgow and Edinburgh have always shared a (mostly) friendly rivalry as Scotland’s two biggest cities on opposing coasts.

Now that head to head competitiveness is being put to good use, beyond salt and vinegar v salt ‘n’ sauce, in a charity challenge to raise funds for Scotland’s vital children’s hospitals.

The second round of Lap the Map will see Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity (GCHC) aim to draw level with Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity (ECHC) in a step count challenge.

Team Edinburgh managed to rack up the equivalent to Scotland’s 10,007km long coastline in a few days, but Glasgow has the chance to catch up as the challenge extends to the full distance of the Earth’s equator – another 40,075km.

An army of over 2,000 participants have already signed up to help each charity lap the world before 31st July.

Both charities are now calling on more people from across Glasgow and the West, and Edinburgh and the East, to sign-up for Lap the Map to raise vital funds, while helping to settle the age-old rivalry over which coast really is the best coast.

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Money raised from Lap the Map will directly support NHS staff on the frontline, young patients and their families at Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Children, and Edinburgh’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children.

NHS staff from Glasgow’s Paediatric Intensive Care, Physiotherapy and Theatre teams, and Edinburgh’s Emergency Department, Critical Care and Occupational Therapy teams have already signed up to help the children they work to support.

Alyson Walker, Consultant Paediatric Anaesthetist at Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Children, said: “Our department and patients benefit so much from the work of GCHC, so ‘Team Scrubs’ are determined to fundraise as much as possible.

“We’ll be changing our scrubs for running gear at every available opportunity to make sure that Team Glasgow laps the map of the world first. Team Edinburgh better watch out – our fantastic Theatres team take great pride in our work, and this challenge will be no exception!”

Meanwhile on the other coast, Judith Montgomery, Physiotherapist at The Royal Hospital for Sick Children, said: “During this crisis, things have been very different in the hospital. The team at ECHC have been there every step of the way, so we want to make our steps count for them.

“We’re challenging ourselves to walk as many kilometres as possible to help us Lap the World first and beat Glasgow!”

The charities teamed up to create Lap the Map as a result of the ongoing postponement and cancellation of mass participation fundraising events across the country due to the Covid-19 crisis.

These events would normally raise tens of thousands for each charity, so an alternative virtual event was created to help plug the gaps in fundraising income.

William McGowan, Head of Fundraising for GCHC, said: “We rely entirely on fundraising and donations to ensure that we can be there for young patients and their families with our life-changing hospital projects and support services.

“It has been wonderful seeing over 1,000 of our incredible supporters showing such determination with their fundraising, and enthusiasm to beat Team Edinburgh to the finish line – it’s no secret that the friendly competition between Glasgow and Edinburgh has been spurring all our team on!

“And while Team Edinburgh may have one the first leg, Team Glasgow is still determined to come out on top so we’re looking forward to welcoming many more supporters to our heroic team, and continuing to raise vital funds for those children in hospital who need us most.”

Victoria Buchanan, Deputy Director of Fundraising at ECHC, said: “We were blown away by the response we received to the initial Lap the Map challenge, with over 1,000 people and NHS heroes signing up to Team Edinburgh. Our team pulled out all the stops, hitting the 10,007km in just three days and raising an incredible £68,000.

“The target was smashed so quickly though and we know our team still has so much more to give, so we are very excited to have extended the challenge to Lap the World. It’s now game on against Glasgow to make sure Team Edinburgh reaches the 50,082km first to prove we are the best team in the world!

“Though we’re all aware of the friendly competition between East and West, our charities share a common goal – to transform the experiences of children and families in hospital. We hope many more people will sign up to the challenge before 31 July to make their kilometres count for their local children’s hospital this summer.”

To enter Lap the Map with Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity visit www.glasgowchildrenshospitalcharity.org. To enter with Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity visit www.echcharity.org