Filshill staff fundraise for favourite charities
As part of its 150th anniversary year, JW Filshill is on a mission to raise £150,000 for six charities which represent large demographics of the communities it serves
Chosen by Filshill staff, the charities are:
- CHAS (Children’s Hospices Across Scotland)
- Dementia Scotland
- Cancer Research UK
- MND Scotland
- SSPCA (Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)
- GroceryAid
The fifth-generation wholesaler, which serves independent KeyStore convenience stores across Scotland and the north of England, is marking its 150th anniversary in 2025 with a raft of activity based around the theme ‘Delivering Success’ that champions sustainability, innovation, community, and wellbeing.
Its community fundraising efforts saw Filshill directors, colleagues, customers, suppliers and family members take part in the Kiltwalk in Glasgow on Sunday 27th April. The Kiltwalk is Scotland’s largest mass participation walking event with over 178,000 people taking part since 2016.
Simon Hannah, chief executive officer at Filshill, described the event as a “wonderful day that saw our colleagues, customers, suppliers and their families join together in camaraderie and a united cause to raise funds for our chosen charities,” adding “A huge thank you to everyone who took part in the Kiltwalk over the weekend in support of the six charities we are supporting in 2025.”
“What makes our 150th anniversary fundraising mission so special is that the six charities have been chosen by our staff who have a particular interest in each one, because of their own personal experience, or that of family and friends.”
Dr Jackie Beasley, head of research management at the Cancer Research UK Scotland Institute, said: “We do rely on people making donations. And I’m always very humbled by people who contact us and send us a cheque and say, ‘it’s my birthday but I’ve decided not to have any birthday presents this year. I’m going to donate to the charity because I think this is really important’.
“There’s a whole range of things that people do. They do fun runs, they have tea parties. And it’s just fantastic. But also, we’re really just keen to hear their stories and for them to come and talk to us about what’s s happened in their cancer journey, or with family members.”
Mandi Leonard, GroceryAid’s welfare director, said: “We support colleagues working across the whole of the grocery sector. That’s everybody from a manufacturing production site, all the way through the logistics supply chain to wholesalers and retailers. Anybody who is part of that supply chain can come to GroceryAid for support.
“About 82% of our income comes from our central events and the rest comes in through donations, legacies, that sort of thing. And some work we do with a couple of trusts within the industry as well. But we run fundraising events throughout the year. We have 16 central events and businesses pay to attend those events. And the income that we generate from those events then comes directly back into our welfare budget.”
The Scottish SPCA animal charity celebrated a big anniversary of its own last year: 185 years. Dean Widd, regional fundraising lead for the north of Scotland, commented: “The funds being raised from the participation of the Filshill staff getting involved and friends and family raising funds for the charity – that will help our running costs of helping to look after the animals in our care. So, it’ll be immense, absolutely fantastic. We don’t get any government funding, so every penny coming through will make a massive difference.
Meanwhile, MND Scotland directly supports people affected by MND. Its fundraising lead Lynne Wiseman said: “MND Scotland relies on companies like Filshill as we do not receive any government funding and with MND, once you’re diagnosed, the life expectancy is around 18 months. It’s a brutal disease.
“Our vision is to have a world with no MND. So Filshill choosing us as one of their charity partners is fantastic. In terms of building awareness – that’s huge for us.”
Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS) provides vital palliative, respite, and end-of-life care at Rachel House in Kinross, Robin House in Balloch, and across Scotland through CHAS at Home. Fundraiser Georgina Bushell commented: “We’re so excited to be working with Filshill and we’re so grateful that you’ve chosen us.
“We are like you – we’re across Scotland, we’re in every community, and you can really help us raise awareness of what we do so that people who might need our support.”
