The ScotRail Alliance has already smashed its MND Scotland fundraising target for 2017/18 after just seven months.

The organisation raised £51,154 for charity partner MND Scotland between April and October this year – well ahead of the target of £50,000 by March 2018.

Almost half of the total was raised by ScotRail Alliance staff, who took part in a wide range of fundraising events – including a sponsored skydive, walking over hot coals, and a staff football tournament.

When the partnership between the ScotRail Alliance and MND Scotland was announced in March, a target of raising £150,000 over three years was set.

Collection tins have been placed at every station ticket office, and station and on-train advertising spaces have been given to the charity free of charge. MND Scotland staff have also been issued with free on-duty travel passes, reducing their overall travel costs.

To raise awareness of the disease, as well as MND Scotland’s work to find a cure, new advertising boards have been erected on the hoardings surrounding the site in Edinburgh Waverley, where work is currently ongoing to build and extend platforms.

The boards feature prominent MND campaigner Gordon Aikman, who passed away from the disease earlier this year. Gordon, originally from Kirkcaldy, raised over £600,000 for MND Scotland through his ‘Gordon’s Fightback’ campaign, which also managed to double the number specialist nurses for MND patients and ensure they were paid for through the NHS instead of charitable donations.

More money is expected to be raised next month, when a staff Christmas jumper day will be held in aid of the fight against motor neurone disease. ScotRail Alliance staff across the country are being encouraged to ‘do their bit in a festive knit’. Volunteers will be collecting donations in Inverness, Aberdeen, Haymarket, Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Queen Street stations.

ScotRail Alliance managing director Alex Hynes said:
“MND Scotland is an absolutely fantastic organisation that is doing some great work to support motor neurone disease patients and their families, as well as working to find a cure.
“I’m exceptionally proud of how much we’ve managed to raise for MND Scotland in just seven short months. It’s important that we do all we can to raise awareness of this cruel disease, and keep up the fight for a cure.”

Joe Pike, husband of the late Gordon Aikman, who died from motor neurone disease in February, said:
“It is hugely impressive that the staff of ScotRail Alliance have raised so much so fast for MND Scotland.
“Every penny will go to helping those living with Motor Neurone Disease, as well as funding vital research, so we find a cure and others don’t have to go through what Gordon did.”

Morag McGown, Corporate Partnerships Manager from MND Scotland, said:
“I am truly grateful to every single ScotRail Alliance employee and customer who helped us reach this incredible target so early in our three year partnership.
“The funds raised are already making a huge difference to the lives of people affected by MND across Scotland and going towards MND research, which is vital to helping us on our journey to a cure.
“In addition, the awareness that has been raised amongst staff and commuters is fantastic – we need to ensure everyone in Scotland knows the life-changing impact MND has and what we can all do to make a difference.
“I’d like to thank everyone involved for their continued support and I’m looking forward to working together to hit our next target.”

Pictured: L to R: Stephen McCall (Network Rail Project Manager), Iain McWhirter (Head of Fundraising and Volunteering at MND Scotland), Duncan Black (Son of Stephen Black), Alex Hynes (Managing Director of ScotRail Alliance), Stephen Black (MND Sufferer), Joe Pike (Husband of the late Gordon Aikman), Mary Black (Wife of Stephen Black) and Morag McGown (Corporate Partnerships Manager for MND Scotland).

The ScotRail Alliance has donated more than £33,000 to MND Scotland in a bid to find a cure for the terminal illness.

The news comes after ScotRail Alliance staff took part in a zip slide across the River Clyde on Saturday (26 August) to raise funds for the charity.

ScotRail Alliance staff have raised more than £14,500 through fundraisers – including dress down days and staff donations through payroll – and the business has donated almost £19,000 through ‘in kind’ support. ‘In kind’ support includes providing advertising space at train stations free of charge.

In March, the ScotRail Alliance announced a three-year partnership with MND Scotland. The goal is to raise £150,000 over the course of the three years.

Client and Communications Director Rob Shorthouse, who took part in the zip slide event, said:

“MND Scotland is a charity that is really close to my heart, particularly since we lost my friend Gordon Aikman to the illness earlier this year.

“We are very proud at the ScotRail Alliance to have a three-year partnership with MND Scotland, and we’ve made a great start. I can’t pretend that I particularly enjoyed the zip slide across the Clyde, but it was all for a good cause.

“We have managed to raise a lot of money to find a cure for motor neurone disease and to raise awareness of this illness.”

Morag McGown, Corporate Partnerships Manager at MND Scotland, said:

“The zip slide was a great day and we were thrilled to see so many ScotRail Alliance staff getting involved.

“This is the first big event of the three-year partnership and we cannot believe the team managed to raise so much. These funds will go towards helping us support people across Scotland who are affected by motor neurone disease and fund more research to find a cure for this devastating illness.

“Next up is our Firewalk on 13th October, at Hampden Park, where more staff will brave the flames and walk across 20 feet of fire burning hot enough to melt aluminium.”