A Perth and Kinross woman has been awarded a British Empire Medal [BME] after helping to raise more than £680,000 for local and national charities.
Jackie Campbell, 62, who lives between Longforgan and Invergowrie, has devoted much of her spare time in the past 15 years to fundraising.
Since retiring in 2017 she has been heavily involved in securing as much as £390,000 for Children’s Hospices Across Scotland [Chas].
At present she is heavily involved in the charity’s second-hand book store at the Sunday market in Errol.
Despite paperback books costing just £1, since March 2021 the store has raised £65,000 for Chas.
Jackie’s selfless work has now been acknowledged by the award of a BEM at Dundee City Chambers, where she was able to celebrate with 50 friends and family.
“It makes you feel as though your efforts have been recognised,” she said.
This feature outlines Jackie’s remarkable fundraising efforts and details the remarkable success of the Errol bookstore.
Dad’s attitude ‘rubbed off’
Jackie was brought up by the late James McGinness and mother Isabel in Kinghorne Road at the foot of Dundee Law.
Her sister Lesley is a fellow volunteer who works for BT.
As a young person Jackie remembers her father helping out neighbours.
“There were people who were maybe a little older than him,” she said.
“He didn’t do it looking for recognition – he just got on with it.
“Maybe some of that has rubbed off on me.”
After studying at Rockwell Primary School Jackie attended Harris Academy, where she enjoyed learning languages.
39 years at same company
But these weren’t utilised in her career.
Instead, Jackie left school to work for Clydesdale Bank (now Virgin Money) in its biggest Dundee branch.
Thirty-nine-and-a-half years later she retired having stayed with the same company throughout.
For the final decade she was a private banking relationship manager responsible for a portfolio of 300 high net-worth members.
Thousands raised in events
Jackie’s expertise in organising and networking meant her role in fundraising has often been on a strategic level.
The first event she helped organise was a black tie ceilidh for Caring for Kids (latterly Cash for Kids) at Dundee’s Invercarse Hotel in March 2007.
This event was repeated the following year and a combined total of £23,500 was raised.
From August 2009 she fundraised for Hospice UK, encompassing Roxburghe House in Dundee and Rachel House in Kinross.
Jackie arranged events such as an ‘It’s a knockout’ competition at Piperdam Golf and Leisure Resort and, with the help of match funding from Clydesdale Bank, handed over more than £437,000 to the charity.
She was additionally a member of the Ninewells Cancer Campaign fundraising committee between 2011 and 2014.
Match-funding from lottery winner
Retirement gave her the chance to focus solely on charity fundraising.
In 2017 she joined the Archie committee and played a role in the foundation successfully passing its £2m target for a new theatre suite at Tayside Children’s Hospital.
Jackie was involved in several events, including two fundraising balls and Dundee’s first Santa Dash, and is still an active member of the committee.
Her biggest post-retirement focus has been on Chas, for whom she has helped to raise £387,000 since 2016.
Events have included race nights, afternoon teas and golf days.
A big supporter of Chas is Euromillions winner Gillian Bayford-Deans, who has been a match-funded in the past three years, adding around £300,000 to the charity’s coffers.
New friendships at book store
The success of the book store at Errol Sunday Market has given Jackie immense satisfaction.
The market is the biggest in Scotland, attracting as many as 10,000 visitors.
It is owned by businessman Morris Leslie, who allowed Chas to take on a 3,100sqft unit in March 2021.
Every Sunday the store sells books, toys, games and jigsaws at cheap prices.
It is run by a core group of up to 60 volunteers who help on the Sunday and come in on the Monday to set up the store for the following weekend.
Jackie is more hands-on than in some of her previous roles, helping out at the shop more than once a month.
“The ethos as the years have gone on has been to have some fun as well as raising money,” she said.
“With the book store I have seen local people who have worked with me really get something out of it.
“Like me they are retired and it keeps them active, fit and it gives them a sense of focus and purpose.
“It has been great to watch people in the group make new friendships. That is really important.”
Dutch visitor buys bags of books
She says feedback from customers has also been great.
“Everybody is really helpful and happy,” she said. “That’s rubbing off on our customers as well.
“We get a lot of donations as people now know where we are.
“They buy stuff from us and once they have read the book, or if it is a jigsaw once they have completed it, they box it all back up and bring it back to us.
“So we are able to keep selling them over and over again.
“We have had a customer who has come in twice. He is from Holland and every time he comes in he has a long list of books he is looking for.
“The last time he was in here was January and he spent £100 – bear in mind that our paperback books are £1. He was filling really big bags with books.
“He said that he preferred to read a book in the language it was written in so instead of getting them in Dutch he wanted the English versions.”
Thrill of selling books
Chas chief executive Rami Okasha has visited the store on four Sundays in the past 18 months.
On the most recent occasion he donated six boxes of books.
“He and the organisation are very supportive,” said Jackie, who then explained the thrill of the bookshop.
“Events are great but they are a one off.
“You put a lot of work into it and it takes months of preparation to make sure it goes okay on the night.
“But once it’s over it’s over.
“The book store is every single week and we never know who is going to walk through the door.”
Rare-breed animals on display
The book store also raises money through one-off events.
Its next takes place on Sunday, June 11 from 10am to 2pm.
Making an appearance will be rare-breed animals from Nether Kirkton Farm and there will be singing performances by volunteer Paul Sullivan and Sing it Sign it: Tayside’s Makaton Choir.
“It’s also the same day as Tayside Classic Car Show so hopefully it will be a bumper day,” Jackie said.
Covid fairytale trails
In December 2020 Jackie was named as a recipient of a British Empire Medal.
This was mainly due to her services during the Covid restrictions, where she raised thousands for Chas by organising rainbow crochets and fairytale trails in Carnoustie, Longforgan, Liff and Dundee’s West End.
Despite the cancellation of face-to-face events, these initiatives helped make 2020 Chas’ most lucrative year ever with £93,500 raised.
She does not know who nominated her for the award, but suspects Alison Henderson, chief executive of Dundee and Angus chamber of commerce, had a generous hand in it.
It wasn’t until April 2023 that she finally received the BEM from Lord Provost Bill Campbell at Dundee City Chambers.
She invited up to 50 people, including husband Chris, mother Isabel, sister Lesley and “a mixture of volunteers and customers who support my fundraising.”
A small reception was held at the Bertie Mooney’s bar.
Another celebration will take place in the garden of Rachel House on May 20.
‘Jackie is an amazing woman’
Jackie is modest about her impact, so it is left to some of those who appreciate her contribution to spell it out.
Friend Elaine McKay runs the Heal ‘n Toes foot clinic in Broughty Ferry.
She supports Chas by providing treatment vouchers throughout the year as a local business.
“Jackie is an amazing woman who never misses an opportunity to fundraise,” Elaine said.
“She works tirelessly and never complains.
“She just gets on with the task in hand and stays focused.
“The volunteering she does is with the help of a team of people who are now all friends
“Everyone pitches in to do what they can when they can.”
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