Balblair Distillery team raise money for James Support Group
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
STAFF at the Ross-shire based Balblair Distillery have raised money for local mental health support charity James Support Group.
They raised £820 by hosting a summer fair on June 25 in the grounds of the distillery in Edderton.
The money has been matched by Balblair's parent company International Beverage to donate a total of £1640.
The outdoor event attracted over 350 visitors from the local community, many of whom bought tickets at the fair’s ‘It’s Ok to not be OK’ fundraising raffle.
14 vendors took part and supplied raffle prizes including pottery, jewellery and artisan food and drink.
James Support Group helps families affected by suicide as well as those with suicidal thoughts and was founded by Cromarty couple Patrick and Wendy Mullery just a few months after the death of their own son.
The group provided invaluable support to a Balbair Distillery team member and their family, so was a natural choice as this year’s charity partner.
John Macdonald, distillery manager at Balblair said: “James Support Group is a charity that is very close to the hearts of our distillery team, so we are incredibly proud to have raised funds for them. The generosity of the vendors and visitors really showcased the amazing community spirit that underlined our whole summer fair and we are looking forward to making this a regular annual event.”
Founders Patrick and Wendy Mullery from James Support Group added: “James Support Group are extremely grateful to have been chosen this year, any opportunity to raise awareness of the help and support that we provide is priceless and we met and spoke to quite a few on the day.
"As a charity we rely on events like this and the generosity, warmth and friendliness of Balblair Distillery and staff made the day for us. We truly cannot thank them enough.”
