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New chief appointed at Archie Foundation charity working for children and families; Boss admits coronavirus pandemic has been 'devastating' for high-profile group


By Val Sweeney

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Paula Cormack, the new chief executive of the Archie Foundation.
Paula Cormack, the new chief executive of the Archie Foundation.

A charity which works to make a difference to sick children and their families including those in the Highlands has a new chief.

The Archie Foundation has appointed Paula Cormack as its chief executive.

It comes after a challenging year for the charity which experienced a 67 per cent reduction in income in 2020 compared to the previous year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Ms Cormack, who joined the organisation as fundraising director a year ago, takes up her new role with immediate effect.

The Archie Foundation supports children’s healthcare at the Highland Children’s Unit at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness, the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital and Tayside Children’s Unit, in Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, as well as Aberdeen Maternity Hospital’s neonatal unit and Grampian Child Bereavement Network.

The charity had been without a chief executive following the departure of David Wood at the end of August.

Aberdeen-born Ms Cormack spent her early career in sales and marketing where she held leading roles in the Scottish food and drink sector before moving into the charity sector in 2016, becoming fundraising manager for Maggie’s Aberdeen.

She said she had always had huge admiration for the Archie Foundation as it extended its work across the north of Scotland and it had been a privilege and a joy to join such a great team although her first year was not what she had anticipated.

"To say it was different to what I expected is something of an understatement," she said. "2020 was incredibly hard for all of us and for a charity like Archie, which had been heavily reliant on high profile, large scale fundraising events, the pandemic was devastating.

"We had to rip up all our plans for the year and start from scratch."

Archie Foundation chairman Joe Mackie said the coronavirus pandemic had thrown up huge challenges.

"In the 20 years I’ve been involved with the charity, never have I known such a challenging fundraising environment," he said.

"The Archie team, including our board of trustees, have worked incredibly hard to steer the charity through these turbulent times and we are greatly indebted to everyone who has rallied round to ensure the charity continues to be here for everyone who needs us."


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