Meeting of the Parliament 23 May 2023
I am grateful to have the opportunity to contribute to the debate, and I thank Jackson Carlaw for bringing the issue to the chamber. As he mentioned in his opening speech, it is a hyper-local issue but could perhaps have far-reaching effects across West Scotland more generally.
It is great to be talking about East Renfrewshire Good Causes in the chamber. It is an organisation that I, being an East Renfrewshire boy, know well. Having spent much time, like Jackson Carlaw, working in our community, I know that the charity is well thought of across East Renfrewshire. Most importantly, it has attracted consensus across the political divide. That can often be hard to achieve in East Renfrewshire, but it is remarkable to see the amount of support that there is for the work that Russell and Yvonne Macmillan have done over many years.
As I was sitting here, I was reflecting on the times when we come together across political lines to mark the sad passing of Jo Cox. In the great get together, we reflect on her words:
“we ... have ... more in common than that which divides us.”—[Official Report, House of Commons, 3 June 2015; Vol 596, c 675.]
I think that that gets to the heart of what we are talking about with regard to East Renfrewshire Good Causes.
The work that Russell has done, which is rooted in his faith, is about finding our commonality and our shared humanity, and recognising the fact that all of us, at different times in our lives, experience adversity and often need the helping hands of neighbours and friends to get us through. We have heard some practical examples of the way in which Russell and East Renfrewshire Good Causes have, as good neighbours and good friends, reached out and supported so many people in all the communities of East Renfrewshire.
It was good to hear Jackson Carlaw refer to the support for the organisation across the local council. When I was a councillor in East Renfrewshire, my colleague Councillor Alan Lafferty—now a former councillor—was very supportive of the charity’s work. I know that, as well as Jackson Carlaw, Paul Masterton, the former Conservative member of Parliament; Kirsten Oswald, the current Scottish National Party MP; and Jim Murphy and Ken Macintosh—names from Labour’s past—were all supportive of that work, which, again, shows the breadth and depth of the support in the community.
However, it goes far beyond that, because it is about the people in our community as well. In preparing for the debate, I reflected on some of the cases in which the organisation has made the most difference. Back in 2009, a young girl from Netherlee with cerebral palsy, who was a wheelchair user, was able, using a power-assisted walking frame, to stand upright and gain her independence and travel to different places. Without the technology and the equipment, she would have been unable to do that. It was East Renfrewshire Good Causes that came to the aid of that family by providing money towards that facility, enabling her to get her own standing frame, which increased her independence and cut down her reliance on others.
I also reflected on the amount of work that East Renfrewshire Good Causes does for young people, in concert with our local schools, and I thought that I would share a testimonial that I read from the depute headteacher of Mearns primary school. She said:
“East Renfrewshire Good Causes charity never fails to bring about positive change in our community. Without their support and contributions, it would not be possible for some of our pupils to participate in activities with their peers.”
Likewise, the manager of the East Renfrewshire Carers Centre offered a testimonial. He said:
“East Renfrewshire Good Causes is a true friend of the Carers’ Centre and has over a number of years supported many carers to purchase vital equipment without which their caring role and life generally would be much harder.”
Those are two excellent examples of community testimonials about the difference that East Renfrewshire Good Causes makes to many people across the area.
I know that Russell Macmillan’s reason for starting East Renfrewshire Good Causes was to say thank you in terms of his life experience and the gift that he was given. It is important that we, in this chamber—and the community in East Renfrewshire—all take the opportunity to say thank you very publicly in the Parliament to Russell, Yvonne and all those who are involved in and who support the work of the charity for everything that they have done and will continue to do not only in East Renfrewshire but beyond its borders, and we must also, once again, offer them our support in all of that work.
17:31