Press Release
The P&J Community Fund Donates Over £70,000 to Local Charities
The P&J Community Fund has donated £71,794 to reader-selected charities, further strengthening its commitment to being the voice of the north.
The P&J Community Fund was established as part of the Press & Journal’s 275th anniversary celebrations in 2023, with the aim of giving back to the communities and readers who have supported the publication for more than two and a half centuries.
Abbie's Sparkle Foundation and Clan Cancer Support have been the news brand's charity partners since 2025, with their partnership concluding at the end of this year.
Raised through fundraising events over the past 12 months, this latest donation follows contributions of £55,837 made in April 2025. In total, The Press and Journal has raised more than £127,000 to charities transforming cancer care in Scotland since the start of the partnership.
Abbie's Sparkle Foundation supports children across Scotland affected by childhood cancer. It helps protect the physical and mental wellbeing of children and their families by providing gifts, treats and family holidays at its lodge in Aviemore.
The charity is named after Abbie Main, an Elgin teenager who passed away from cancer in 2017. Her final wish was to create the charity.
Her mother, Tammy Main, who manages the organisation, said "We were delighted to hear about this most recent fantastic fundraising by The P&J Community Fund. Abbie's charity supports around 500 children a year, who face very difficult challenges during cancer treatment. These funds strengthen what we do now and makes that support sustainable into the future, allowing us concentrate on providing the help to the children when it's needed most.”
These funds will go towards individual gifts and treats throughout the year, including “Abbie's Christmas Sparkles” for every child in Scotland facing cancer treatment.
Clan Cancer Support aims to be the first non-medical point of contact for anyone affected by cancer. It supports patients and their families to improve physical and mental wellbeing, whilst working alongside local authorities and the and Scottish Government to shape cancer care.
Its impact is felt across north-east Scotland, Moray, Orkney and Shetland, and between 2024-2025, they delivered support to over 9,000 people.
“We’re incredibly grateful to The Press and Journal and to everyone who has supported the Community Fund over the past year. This generous donation will make a real difference to people in our local communities facing a cancer diagnosis,” said Katy Gifford, Chair of Clan.
“As a commercially independent charity, we need to raise £2.7 million each year to deliver our services, and support like this is vital to ensuring we can continue to be there for everyone who needs us.”
Craig Walker, Editor of The Press and Journal, adds: “The Press and Journal is delighted to be supporting two fantastic charities carrying out amazing work across the north and north-east of Scotland.
“It’s an honour and a privilege for The P&J to be working with Abbie’s Sparkle Foundation and Clan Cancer Support, voted by readers of The P&J to be our charity partners.
“I know both charities really appreciate the financial help, and it does make a huge difference. The P&J also aims to raise their profiles through stories in our newspaper and website and the connections we’ve also helped develop has also benefited the charity not just for this year but hopefully a long time to come.”
