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Fahan woman’s fundraiser tops
£100,000
08.12.13
by Bill Heaney
IT was a red letter day for Inishowen woman Georgie
Duncan recently when Beanfeast, her Scottish charity
fund, broke through the £100,000 mark
Georgie, a farmer’s daughter from Fahan, near
Buncrana, watched proudly as Sheriffs Simon Pender
and Simon Fraser, accompanied by Lord Pentland and
Tom Finnegan JP, joined lawyers and court staff in
Dumbarton on Clydeside to hand over cheques
totalling £10,000 to four local charities.
The presentations took place in the court building
in Church Street, Dumbarton, where the High Court,
the Sheriff Court and the Justice of the Peace Court
now sit. |
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Georgie
Duncan, right, hands over a cheque to Owen Warner
for Muscular Dystrophy while judges and court staff
look on. Photo: Bill Heaney. |
The money was raised by
Beanfeast, the voluntary group which supplies a café
service to court staff and witnesses, which Georgie
has run for 13 years.
Much of the money has gone to making life more
comfortable for the young patients in the
state-of-the-art Robin House hospice at Balloch,
Loch Lomondside.
But this year that was extended to take in other
deserving local charities.
One of the cheques cheque was a 20th birthday
surprise for muscular dystrophy patient, Owen
Warner, of Dumbarton.
He said it would be a great boost for the charity
for which he and his parents, Elaine and Robbie,
have been raising money for many years.
Georgie launched the charity in 2001 co-operation
with solicitor Charles McCusker.
Charlie and friends started Beanfeast with money
they raised from sponsorship while running
marathons.
They have now raised more than £700,000 since
extending their charity work to Beanfeast in courts
across Dunbartonshire and Renfrewshire.
He said: “Georgie Duncan and her willing helpers
have done a magnificent job since taking over the
café at Dumbarton.
“She said initially she would do it for a wee while
but she is still here and the good news is that the
money raised has broken through the £100,000 mark
and is now £100,500.”
Georgie, whose maiden name is Walker, was voted
Citizen of the Year for West Dunbartonshire two
years ago.
She retired from her work at Strathleven Bonded
Warehouses in Dumbarton in 1995 and is a member of
St Augustine's Scottish Episcopal Church in
Dumbarton High Street.
“I could not do this work without the help of my
dedicated band of volunteers," a delighted Georgie
said.
Lord Pentland, who had been presiding at an
important trial in Dumbarton, gave up his lunch
break to join sheriffs, solicitors, court staff and
Beanfeast volunteers to hand over the cheques.
He said later: “This is an excellent charity and
Georgie and her volunteer colleagues are doing great
work here in Dumbarton.
“There is a very good atmosphere amongst the people
who work at this court.” |
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