CHILDREN’S ARTHRITIS CHARITY GETS FUNDING BOOST FROM CHIVAS BROTHERS

Employees of Scotch whisky producer Chivas Brothers have chosen the Scottish Network for Arthritis in Children (SNAC) as their Charity of the Year for 2015. The organisation was chosen by employees at the company’s Speyside and Orkney sites. The company has donated £5,000 to the charity.

SNAC was set up by parents of children with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA). Its objective is to provide a national support network for children with arthritis and their families through the provision of factual, practical and emotional support. It aims to pull together the wider community of affected children in Scotland as well as raise public awareness of JIA.

Charities of the Year are nominated by employees, before a shortlist is created and voting takes place. SNAC holds a special place in the heart of employee Willie Templeton from the company’s Mulben warehouses in Keith.

He explained: “Two years ago when my son Kylan was diagnosed with JIA we were looking for more information about the condition and found out about SNAC. The parent information days, family weekend and activity days have been invaluable for our family.

“As SNAC is run voluntarily by parents and relies on fundraising and donations, I nominated them for Charity of the Year never imagining for a minute that we would be successful. When I found out we had won I was absolutely delighted and couldn’t wait to thank my colleagues who had voted.”

Michael Kent, Chairman of SNAC, said: “We are delighted to be chosen as Chivas Brothers’ charity partner for the next year and the £5,000 donation is a great boost help to us to fund further support to those affected by JIA.

“We are hugely grateful to everyone who supports us in whatever way they can to improve the experiences of children with JIA. The relationship with the clinical teams is as strong today as ever and SNAC work closely with SPARN (Scottish Paediatric and Adolescent Rheumatology Network). We also work closely with other similar charities throughout the UK and Ireland and represent children with Arthritis on various clinical and government committees.”

Jennie Norrish, Head of Communications at Chivas Brothers, added: “I’m delighted our employees in Speyside and Orkney have decided to support SNAC in 2015. The charity raises awareness of a condition that affects one in every thousand children under 16, yet many people are not even aware children can develop arthritis. I hope our donation helps them continue their important work, and we look forward to working with them throughout the year.”

There are four regional Chivas Brothers charities of the year in total. The others are: Dunbartonshire Disability Sports Club (Paisley, Glasgow and Ayrshire region), The Kiltwalk (Dunbartonshire region) and The Jake McCarthy Foundation (London and Plymouth region).

Picture caption:

(l-r) Fiona Donaldson of SNAC and Chivas Brothers employee Willie Templeton

About Chivas Brothers

Chivas Brothers is the Scotch whisky and premium gin business of Pernod Ricard, the world’s co-leader in wines and spirits. Chivas Brothers’ award-winning portfolio features some of the world’s most revered Scotch whisky brands including Chivas Regal, the world’s first luxury whisky and the No.1 Scotch whisky in China; Ballantine’s, Europe’s No.1 Scotch whisky; The Glenlivet, the world’s No.1 single malt whisky; and Royal Salute, the world’s only exclusively prestige Scotch whisky range. The portfolio also includes two of the world’s leading English gins – Beefeater, the world’s most awarded premium gin, and Plymouth gin – plus a selection of highly acclaimed single malt whiskies, including Aberlour, Longmorn, Scapa, Strathisla and Tormore. The range is completed by a collection of blended Scotch whiskies operating in many of the world’s key whisky markets which includes 100 Pipers, Clan Campbell, Something Special and Passport Scotch.

http://www.chivasbrothers.com/

@ChivasNewsRoom

About SNAC:

SNAC was formed in 2009 when a group of parents attending a family event held by the clinical team realised the huge difference that support for parents and families affected by JIA could make. SNAC remains a volunteer parent-led charity supporting children with arthritis and their families throughout Scotland.

With help from the paediatric rheumatology health care professionals, who provide the educational content, SNAC runs educational days, family weekends as well as smaller local events. Their main event is their annual family weekend in Crieff Hydro where children with JIA and their families get the opportunity to meet other children and hospital professionals in a relaxed environment. The weekend consists of educational workshops for children, their siblings and parents as well as fun activities. So far SNAC has enabled 120 families in Scotland to attend this weekend.

Website: http://www.snac.uk.com/

Twitter: @SNAC_JIA

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SNACPage