Friday November 18th 2016
Midlothian MP Owen Thompson has launched his inaugural Christmas card design competition and has written to all primary schools in Midlothian inviting them to take part. The winning design will be used for his Parliamentary Christmas cards, and Mr Thompson will be judging the entries, along with a surprise celebrity judge.
Mr Thompson will also use the competition and card to highlight the work of charities working for important causes in Midlothian and to raise sponsorship money to benefit those charities. The nominated charities for 2016 are Midaid, the Scottish Refugee Council and Women’s Aid East & Midlothian.
Commenting, Owen Thompson MP said:
“It has been exciting to see the entries for my first Christmas card competition coming in – there are many talented primary aged children in Midlothian and I can see I will have great designs to choose from.
“With sponsorship already coming in from local businesses, I look forward to highlighting and giving financial support to our 3 nominated charities this year. Midaid, the Scottish Refugee Council and Women’s Aid East & Midlothian are all doing important work in Midlothian and beyond, and it important during this season of giving to remember those who need our help.”
Dr Alan Naylor of Midaid said:
“In the autumn of 2015, a number of church people in Midlothian asked ‘What are we doing to assist the refugees?” At the same time, Midlothian Council was expecting up to 50 refugees to arrive in the county over the next 5 years. A collaborative meeting was held with the Council, church representatives and Midlothian Business Gateway, and ‘Midaid: a helping hand for refugees’ was formed. Since then, each Wednesday, donated goods are collected from a number of points, churches, schools and others and taken to Edinburgh Direct Aid for forward transmission to the Lebanon. Additionally Midaid has assisted the Council in the settlement of the refugees – now Midlothian residents – within the county and will continue with food, clothing and household goods where appropriate.
“As ever the generosity of the people in our community has been overwhelming and we are so thankful for their continued support.”
John Wilkes, Chief Executive of Scottish Refugee Council, said:
“2016 has been another impossibly difficult year for millions of people who have been forced to flee their homes in search of a place of safety. Once again this year we have seen unprecedented numbers of people displaced by war, terrorism and human rights abuses and unprecedented numbers of people losing their lives as they attempt to reach safety in Europe.
“At the same time, people in Scotland have responded with warmth and empathy and a passionate desire to help fellow human beings in such desperate situations. Scottish Refugee Council has helped refugees in Scotland for thirty years now and we know the generosity and welcoming spirit of our country goes a long way to help people find their feet here and begin to recover from all that they have been through.”
Julie Watson of Women’s Aid East & Midlothian said:
“We are absolutely delighted to be one of the charities that Owen Thompson has decided to support. Midlothian continues to have a higher rate of domestic abuse incidents than the national average and we are pleased with the continued political commitment shown to tackling and protecting women, children and young people from domestic abuse.”
Those looking for further information, and those interested in offering sponsorship by the closing date of Friday 25 November, should contact Mr Thompson’s Parliamentary constituency office at 0131 663 9675 / owen.thompson.mp@parliament.uk
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