hub North Scotland has donated £500 as part of an Inverness family’s appeal to buy their daughter an electric wheelchair.
The organisation and Morrison Construction have both made donations after the parents of 11-year-old Jessica McHarg issued the call for help through local paper the Highland News.
Jessica is affected by a muscle wasting condition called spinal muscular atrophy which means she can no longer walk. After finding movement in her conventional wheelchair increasingly difficult, the need for an electronic wheelchair became apparent.
The current Hilton Primary pupil, who will start at Inverness Royal Academy in the summer, has been inundated with offers of donations from local businesses, families and individuals with the campaign set to exceed the £6000 required for the new chair.
Jill Adie, business development manager at hub North Scotland, was delighted to play a part in supporting Jessica’s appeal.
She said: “Jessica’s appeal struck a chord with all of us at hub North Scotland and our donation of £500 really is the least we can do to help her and her family in their appeal for a new chair.
“Jessica will attend Inverness Royal Academy after the summer and with hub North currently delivering the new school on behalf of Highland Council, we want to continue to help the Inverness community over and above the benefits that the new facility will bring. Supporting Jessica was an absolute given.
“We look forward to welcoming Jessica to the new school in the foreseeable future and we hope that her new chair will offer a level of comfort and support that will allow her to have the mobility and independence that she deserves.”
Work on the new Inverness Royal Academy, which is being delivered by hub North Scotland with main contractor Morrison Construction, commenced in August last year and, once complete, will see a new four-storey six-year high school built on the site of the existing school.
The new school, which will consist of 15,963 sq m of floor space and is designed to be able to cater for 1,420 pupils, will have 39 practical, 40 non-practical and five tutorial classrooms with an additional six rooms being provided in order to accommodate a range of subjects to be taught in Gaelic.
The existing school at the site on Culduthel Road will continue to operate during construction and will be used to accommodate a range of sports facilities once the new school is completed.