A Highland coach and minibus operator is embracing the spirit of giving this Christmas with a range of community and charity donations.
Family-run D&E Coaches is the headline sponsor of this year’s pantomime at Eden Court Theatre – Sleeping Beauty – and has also donated four-figure sums to two local charities working hard to support families across the Highlands this festive season.
The firm has donated £2,000 to MFR Cash for Kids’ Mission Christmas – ensuring children across the Highlands have presents to open on Christmas Day.
A further £1,000 donation has been made to Held in our Hearts’ Highland Support located within Inverness Business Hub.
Managing director Donald Mathieson said:
“We are incredibly grateful to be in a position where we can give back to our local community and the fantastic organisations that support it.
“December is a month for coming together, celebrating the joy of the season and being with those we love, which is why it is important to D&E Coaches – as a family business – to be able to inspire the coming-together of families at this year’s pantomime, as well as showing our support to those in our community who need a helping hand.”
MFR Cash for Kids’ Mission Christmas is a campaign that supports local families, improving the lives of disadvantaged children and young people in Highland communities who are affected by illness, poverty, neglect or have additional needs.
The campaign sees local businesses and individuals coming together to ensure no child goes without a present to open on Christmas morning.
Paul MacBeth, corporate fundraising executive at MFR Cash for Kids, said:
“We’re incredibly grateful to D&E Coaches for its donation to this year’s Christmas mission.
“We know things are tough for everyone at the moment, but every donation counts towards support for families who are struggling – for them, these donations mean a great deal.”
Held in Our Hearts – a Scottish charity providing support to families who have sadly lost a baby, providing counselling and peer support services to help them through the trauma – opened its first Highland Support hub in Inverness city centre in 2021.
Held in Our Hearts’ head of fundraising Jacqui Heasley said:
“For those who have lost a baby, Christmas can be isolating, lonely and filled with overwhelming sadness.
“By donating to our Highland Support hub, teams like D&E Coaches are helping those who are experiencing this heartache receive the support they need now and throughout the year.”
D&E Coaches is the largest private hire coach and minibus operator in the north of Scotland, providing transport solutions to the Highlands for over 25 years.
The award-winning transport firm specialises in contract and private hire, business hire, event transport, school bus runs and airport transfers.
D&E Coaches also operates the Inverness City Sightseeing service alongside D&E Tours, which provides tourists with the opportunity to visit sights across the Highlands, including Loch Ness.
For more information, visit www.decoaches.co.uk or follow D&E Coaches on Facebook.
