Ward 3 remodel creates relaxing space for Mental Health patients
Following on from the initial large grant awarded in 2024, the patients and family lounge provides a safer, more therapeutic, relaxing environment for older adults requiring inpatient mental health care.
Memory boxes support bereaved families
The Intensive Care Unit at the Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy continues to offer memory boxes to support bereaved families.
Beautiful keepsake
Treasured memories
Our grants programme | Update
Large Grants
Large Grants continue to be awarded, including support for the newly reopened Queen Margaret Hospital, Ward 3 and in the form of a substantial research grant on the future of Advanced cancer care in Fife.
Community Grants
The Community Grants Programme has now entered its second year with 14 grants awarded totalling £74,000. The focus continues to be children and young people. Updates from the latest community grants programme will be shared in future editions of our charity newsletter. See also our Community Grants spotlight below.
Small Grants
For the period April 2025 – March 2026 | £211,420 awarded
The charity is proud to have supported 56 small grants for different projects and initiatives which are helping to improve the lives of people and communities supported by NHS Fife.
Micro Grants
For the period April 2025 – March 2026 | £133,976 awarded
441 micro grants were approved totalling £133,976. This makes the average micro grant £304. When compared the last financial year, this represents an increase of 70%.
Spotlight on Community Grants
Families First receives grant to support school engagement
The community grant supported
5 hours per week x 40 weeks
of emotional support for children and young people across one school year in North-East Fife experiencing Emotionally Based School Avoidance.
Fife Health Charity Grants Committee recently received feedback from Gemma Nicolson, Chief Executive Officer at Families First, St Andrews.
This registered charity were recipients of a community grant from Fife Health Charity in 2025 and also submitted a successful grant application to the charity for a 2026 community grant. Families First, St Andrews work with children and young people aged 5–16 years, and their families, with additional support needs, living throughout North-East Fife.
Families First provided targeted emotional support to children and young people facing challenges related to school attendance and engagement.
Last year:
- 25 children and young people were supported to improve their educational engagement and emotional wellbeing, through a combination of individual and group-based interventions designed to improve emotional regulation and reduce barriers to school attendance.
- Enhanced group support was delivered to support transitions, particularly for children moving from primary to secondary school. Activities included meeting teachers, school orientation, and preparing for change.
We were delighted to hear the positive feedback from Families First. It's important to us to hear about all the projects we support as this helps us to learn what's effective and helps when deciding how funds are best allocated.
Community grants programme update
Following a successful launch of the innovative community grants programme in 24/25 focusing on children and young people across Fife, 10 grants were awarded totalling £49,000. The first year has been very successful in delivering the charity’s strategic objectives.
Read feedback from some of the projects below.
Helping families feel less socially isolated by giving them a community space where they could meet others in similar situation and where their children could access inclusive play activities
The results speak for themselves. Children who have used Kitbag in school settings are shown to grow in self-confidence and in their ability to interact with peers. Teachers notice how they begin to value themselves more.
Young people have reported feeling more confident, connected and motivated during the 7 week fitness programme. The regular sessions, team environment and opportunity to push themselves physically contributed positively to their emotional resilience, confidence and social wellbeing.
Training and Development Grants
This year we were delighted to formally launch our Training and Development Grants Programme which is promoted through StaffLink, NHS Fife's staff intranet.
Grants are available to all NHS Fife employees, however applications from non-clinical staff have been actively encouraged in order to support staff groups who may not previously have considered applying for training and development grants to enhance their skills and knowledge and support their personal development in their roles.
40 grants totalling £48,000 have been awarded to date. The programme will re-launch in Summer 2026.
Find out how Tamara and Ashley benefitted from their grants.
Other ways your donations are making a difference here in Fife
There are many reasons why people decide to support Fife Health Charity. We are incredibly grateful for each and every donation we receive and are constantly inspired by the stories behind each gift.
Many of our donations come through monetary donations from the relatives of loved ones who’ve received outstanding care in hospital.
Supporting our supporters
Cuddle cot fundraiser
Our amazing Fife Health Charity fundraisers, Laura and Amanda held a fundraiser in April to raise money for a cuddle cot for the Cherry Blossom Suite at Victoria Hospital.
Cuddle cots are specifically designed pieces of bereavement equipment used after baby loss. They allow families to spend extra time with their baby.
Fife Health Charity are very grateful to our fundraisers and everyone who supported them to raise over £2,700!
Steps for Blair
Bereavement is never easy, but it is often in the face of loss that people find extraordinary strength and purpose.
After the heartbreaking loss of their much-loved grandson, Blair, John and Kass have chosen to honour his memory in a truly inspiring way. In May, they will take on the West Highland Way, a remarkable 96-mile trek from Milngavie to Fort William, through some of the most stunning scenery Scotland has to offer. They aim to complete the walk over six days, staying in hiking huts along the route.
Their motivation comes not only from their love for Blair, but also from deep gratitude. They speak warmly of the compassion, care, and emotional support shown to their daughter Kaitlyn and her partner Mark by the staff at the Cherry Blossom Suite in Kirkcaldy’s Victoria Hospital. That support made an immeasurable difference during an incredibly difficult time.
Through this challenge, John and Kass hope to give back by raising funds for Fife Health Charity, with their donation wish for it to support the Cherry Blossom Suite, which helps families experiencing similar loss.
If you would like to support John and Kass, you can do so via Footprints for Blair.
The Fife Health Charity team wishes them the best of luck with their challenge.
Marathon effort in sunny Spain
Huge congratulations to Alana and Stuart for completing the Barcelona Marathon on 15 March!
Every mile they ran was driven by a shared commitment to making a difference—helping more children and young people access the mental health support they need. Together, they raised an incredible £900 in support of Fife Health Charity and Fife Childhood and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS). A fantastic effort!
Good Luck to all our Edinburgh Marathon Festival runners taking on the Half and Full Marathons on 24 May!
Fundraising | Ordinary people doing extraordinary things
These are just a few donation stories from recent months of ordinary people doing extraordinary things for Fife Health Charity to benefit people across the Kingdom.
Perhaps you too could help us by organising a fundraising event in aid of Fife Health Charity? Don't have time to plan? Then maybe an organised event would work for you. Why not sign up for one of the running events taking place over the next few months?
Calling all fundraisers
We would love to support your fundraising in 2026!
Whether you’re a seasoned fundraiser or this is your first time, Alice our fundraising manager will support you all the way. Get in touch and let us know about your 2026 fundraising ideas. You can contact her at fife.healthcharity@nhs.scot
Events
The Kiltwalk
Put your best foot forward and take on the kiltwalk in aid of Fife Health Charity. Whether you fancy the Mighty Stride, a Big Stroll or even a Wee Wander, there is a distance to suit everyone.
- Aberdeen: 7 June
- Dundee: 16 August
- Edinburgh: 13 September
See more information here The Kiltwalk | Join us on a Kiltwalk
All walkers receive a free Fife Health Charity T-shirt to wear on the day.
Running Events
Whether you want a full on fitness challenge or simply want to help our charity, we’d love to hear from any runners who’d like to fundraise in aid of Fife Health Charity. Simply choose the event that best fits your location, fitness and preference. Contact Fife.healthcharity@nhs.scot and we’ll do the rest.
- Scottish Half Marathon and 10K on 16 August 2026
- Men/Women’s 10K Edinburgh on 20 September 2026
- Supernova Forth Bridge on 7 November 2026
- Supernova Kelpies on 12-13 March 2027
- Edinburgh Marathon Festival on 29-30 May 2027
If you would like to discuss making a donation you can also contact us at fife.healthcharity@nhs.scot or simply donate by visiting our Justgiving page.
Fife Health Charity is the official charity of NHS Fife.
We're keen to ensure that those around us, the people of Fife, know who we are and what we do. This is why we're excited to announce the inaugural Fife Health Charity Fortnight which will take place 1 -14 June 2026. This will be our opportunity to share the work of the Charity, celebrate projects both in the hospital and in the community, and to raise awareness of our grant making process. We hope that you can join us.
Did you know for example that Fife Health Charity used to be known as the NHS Fife Endowment Fund? Perhaps not right? Despite our different name, we’ve been supporting and enhancing healthcare in Fife for over 75 years.
NHS charities don’t replace core NHS funding - they enhance what’s already there. We provide additional support that helps prevent ill health, improve services for patients and support NHS staff. We also fund projects that make a real difference to the health and wellbeing of local communities.
Each time I start to write my message for the charity’s newsletter I always end up getting distracted by reading the stories that are shared. Be it stories which tell the difference that our grants are making here in Fife, or the stories of the people who are choosing to support our charity and raise the vital funds that make these grants possible; I never fail to be inspired. Here at Fife Health Charity, we have the privilege of being able to provide funding that improves people’s lives in small, or sometimes, quite significant ways. That is only possible because of the generosity of our supporters and the creativity and commitment of those who apply for funds and bring to life their ideas for helping others across Fife.
Telling these stories is something the charity has not always been good at, and we know we need to do more. That is why we will be delivering the first ever ‘Fife Health Charity Fortnight’ over the first two weeks of June.
This will be two weeks where we take the opportunity to highlight and celebrate stories of how the funds raised for Fife Health Charity are helping patients in our hospitals across Fife, their families, our communities and the NHS Fife staff who care for our loved ones when they need it most. We will also celebrate our amazing supporters and the inspirational reasons why they support Fife Health Charity. Over the fortnight we will be telling stories over our social media channels and in person at events across Fife. Keep an eye on our website to find out more and please come visit us – we would love to speak to you.
Keeping to the theme of stories, we are in the process of preparing our annual report and I’m delighted to share that 2025/26 was a massive year for our charity with more than 550 grants awarded across Fife totalling £816,000. In the past two years we have doubled the volume of our grant-making and are reaching more people across Fife than ever. It’s not just about the numbers though, we are thrilled to receive feedback from the people who are benefiting from these grants and can see how this is improving people’s health and wellbeing. That’s what we are aiming to do.
I hope you have enjoyed reading about our work in this edition of our newsletter and take inspiration from the stories and the people who have benefited. Thank you to everyone who makes this possible and I look forward to sharing more stories with you later in the year!
Mark McGeachie, Charity Director
Support us | Money donated in Fife stays in Fife
Every donation to Fife Health Charity stays in Fife, helping us enhance lives across our communities. From funding vital equipment to supporting local health initiatives, the generosity of our wonderful supporters directly improves the wellbeing of those we care about most.
There are many ways that people can support our charity! You can donate directly with a one-off donation on our Justgiving page where you can also set up a monthly donation. You can also get involved by organising a fundraising event in aid of Fife Health Charity; or by taking part in an event, such as one of the organised local running events to raise funds; or nominating Fife Health Charity as ‘charity of the year’ in a local business. If you would like to discuss making a donation you can also contact us at fife.healthcharity@nhs.scot – we’d be delighted to hear from you!