A small charity that helps youngsters’ dreams come true has thanked Allied Vehicles Charitable Trust for a donation to help with the upkeep of its respite caravans.
Les Hoey MBE DreamMaker Foundation has only three employees and was the brainchild of the Network Rail employee after his own daughter Shelley’s battle with leukaemia.
As a 12-year-old Shelley was diagnosed with the illness and spent months in Yorkhill Hospital.
She told Les, from Wishaw, she wanted to meet the pop band Boyzone. He went on to contact their management, who invited Shelley and her friends to meet the band when they played in Glasgow. Les saw the difference it made to his daughter and decided to help give other children with life-threatening illnesses that same sort of happiness.
While Shelley was undergoing treatment, he started raising cash for Yorkhill Children’s Hospital and the Anthony Nolan Trust, and his DreamMaker Foundation was born in 2014. Shelley pulled through and Les told The Daily Record last year that she managed to meet Boyzone again – 25 years after the first occasion.
In the 2013 New Year’s Honours List, his hard work was recognised when he was made an MBE for services to charity in Scotland.
Since its launch his organisation has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds and helped dozens of youngsters meet their idols or go on special trips. Among the celebs they have met are Johnny Depp, Ed Sheeran, Beyonce, McBusted, The Script and The Scotland football team.
Angela Cook, one of the team of three who keep the foundation running, said:
“We don’t get any funding and that made your donation so fantastic as it came just in time to help us with the yearly costs of our two respite holiday caravans at Craig Tara in Ayr … [where] families registered with us can go to for a holiday.
“We cover all the costs and entertainment passes and also give them a discount card for food and drink.
“These caravans are full from March to October and the feedback that we get from the families who stay in them tells us the difference that these wee holidays can make when a child is in hospital for long periods of time and away from other family members.”
Angela said site fees, utilities and maintenance costs had risen significantly and that while the £500 from AVCT would help with these, one of the caravans may yet have to go.
“We would hate to have to make that decision, but the decision may need to be taken to safeguard one caravan for the foreseeable future,” she said.
“Thank you all so much for choosing Les Hoey MBE DreamMaker to give a donation to and be rest assured that [it] has made a massive difference to our charity and the brave children and families that we support 😊.”
Michael Docherty, the Allied electrical vehicle assembler who nominated the charity, added: “My partner is quite close with a director of the charity, and we’ve been to couple of their functions.
“The work they do is absolutely amazing and when you see what they’re like with the kids it just tugs at your heartstrings a bit and I thought I’d do what I could to help them.
“Allied backs a lot of charities through the Trust so I thought I’d try it and see what happens because DreamMaker helps disabled kids and we make disability vehicles and the two tie in together, so I’m glad we were able to help.”
