The butterflies at 
Rachel House touched the sisters      

By Euan Duguid LADIES OF the Scottish Orange Lodge have put together a real sister act to raise over £6000 for The Sunday Post Hospice Challenge. The “sisters”, aged 17 to 90 in lodges up and down the country, have spent the last year raising funds for Scotland’s second hospice — showing real girl power. “We’ve had a spectrum of events from bingo nights, discos and raffles right down to sisters collecting penny pieces in Smarties tubes,” explained Grand Mistress Margaret Young from Glasgow. “It’s been great fun and it’s brought the ladies closer together as a lot of teamwork has been involved. “But everyone has always had the vital cause we have been working for in their thoughts.”  In the past, the ladies section of the Orange Order have raised cash for charities like Erskine Hospice and when it came to putting a plan into action for CHAS, Margaret explained how the members were equally driven to help. “In 1999 several ladies travelled to Kinross for a tour of Rachel House and that really struck a chord with us. Although it was an open day and no children or their families were in the hospice, I think it would be fair to say it was the most poignant and touching experience many of us have ever had. “From the vibrantly colourful play areas to the rooms where relatives can go when their child passes away — the whole experience brought a tear to everyone’s eye. It was admiration rather than pity. “Perhaps the thought that’s lingered most for those who visited the hospice and those who heard about it are the pictures of the children on the wall. “One of our ladies asked why some photographs had a small butterfly sticker on them. The guide explained that these were children who had passed away. “That really brought home the importance of such a place. Many of us are mothers, grandmothers even great-grandmothers and seeing the work done in Rachel House has really instilled a sense of urgency to raise funds for the second hospice.”

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