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 is reminding customers that round one pound coins are due to expire next week.

From Monday 16 October, the old coins will no longer be accepted for payment on trains or at stations, including self-service ticket machines and car parking meters.

To avoid losing out, the ScotRail Alliance is encouraging customers to spend, bank or donate their round pounds to its charity partner, MND Scotland.

The round one pound coin goes out of circulation at 11.59pm on Sunday 15 October, and businesses across the UK are under no obligation to accept the old coin from customers.

ScotRail Alliance Community Investment Manager Sophie Nightingale said: “We have collection cans at stations across the network and if customers find they still have some of the old coins lying around, it would be fantastic if they donated them to MND Scotland.

“Every single pound makes a massive difference in improving the lives of those affected by Motor Neurones Disease.”

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.”

• ScotRail Alliance in three-year link up with MND Scotland
• MND Awareness week running from 19-25 June
• MND patients and their families urged to make use of assisted travel scheme to access rail services

Abseils and skydives are just two exploits that will see ScotRail Alliance staff go off the rails this year in aid of their nominated charity, MND Scotland.

Awareness of Motor Neurone Disease (MND) will be raised from 19-25 June at some stations and on social media as the ScotRail Alliance and MND take part in a series of events to fund-raise for the disease which has such a devastating impact on patients and their families and friends.

This coincides with a global MND Awareness Day on 21 June.

To find out more, MND patient Alison McDonald joined ScotRail Alliance Managing Director Alex Hynes and MND Scotland CEO Craig Stockton at Glasgow Central Station, to hear how 7500 ScotRail Alliance staff will be raising money.

The partnership between the ScotRail Alliance and MND Scotland will last for three years. As well as the high-octane events for only the bravest, more sedate dress down days, a concert with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and bake sales will also play their part in raising cash for the charity.

Alex Hynes also took the opportunity to discuss with Alison – who is a wheelchair user – the customer assist programme which is in place to help customers access rail services.

• Last year, the ScotRail Alliance provided just under 85,000 assisted journeys, booked through its website
• Many more unbooked customer assistances are also given by railway staff every day, from helping with luggage, to local directions and support to board or alight trains.

Alex Hynes said: “I admire and support MND Scotland’s work and give my full backing to our three-year partnership which has already started delivering for the charity and its work.

“Part of this support is making our rail services accessible for as many customers as possible and this includes those who may need a bit more help to travel on our trains. I want Scotland’s railway to be the best it’s ever had and making it accessible for all is a big part in delivering that excellence.”

Craig Stockton, CEO of MND Scotland, added: “It’s fantastic to be working so closely with the ScotRail Alliance and to have the opportunity to improve and promote accessible train travel across Scotland.

“Losing your independence can be one of the most difficult things to come to terms with after a diagnosis of MND and we will continue to do what we can to enable people with the illness to maintain their independence and ability to travel for as long as possible.

“We are very excited about the partnership and all of the different activities ScotRail Alliance staff and customers will be able to get involved in over the next three years, as well as the awareness we can raise across the country.”

For more information, please contact ScotRail Alliance Communications on 0141 555 4105 or email communications@scotrail.co.uk