History

The Holiday Scheme was the idea of Lilias Graham, a social worker for the Scottish Episcopal Church. Lilias was based in the Gorbals area of Glasgow in the 1950s. Many families lived with poverty, illness and unemployment. Her idea was to help the children’s health and wellbeing by getting them away from the city for a week and she set up a network of families across the country willing to look after the children.

 Between 1986 and 1994 the scheme became part of The Aberlour Child Care Trust organisation. The scheme expanded to cater for the needs of more children from within Greater Glasgow and the West of Scotland areas.

 In 1994 we became an independent charity, securing charitable status in our own right and governed by our own constitution, which allows for the Holiday Scheme to be managed by a committee of up to eleven volunteers. The committee includes two users of the service, some with church affiliations and some with none. We have links with statutory services to ensure compliance with changing legislation and best practice.

The welfare of the children who enjoy the Scheme is always paramount. We continue to provide individual holidays for children with volunteer host families or at an adventure centre for teenagers. Over the past few years we have expanded to offer family caravan holidays in one of our four static caravans at Wemyss Bay