A HELENSBURGH artist has raised almost £2,500 for a local children’s hospice after deciding to donate 100 per cent of the sales of her work to charity.

Lesley Carruthers, who has a studio in Upper Colquhoun Street, handed over a cheque for £2,455 to Robin House staff in Balloch on Monday.

The facility is run by Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS) and is a specialist centre offering support for young people with life-shortening conditions and respite for families.

Having contributed cash to the Stephen Lawrence Trust over July and August, prompted by the Black Lives Matter campaign, Lesley has now raised around £4,000 for charity in the last six months.

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The 68-year-old featured in the Advertiser earlier this year ahead of taking part in the Artmap Argyll open studio event, and all proceeds raised from that have now gone to CHAS at Robin House.

Lesley said: “Painting just gives me the deepest pleasure, and being in a position in life where I can now use the money from sales to help others in need - well, that’s just pretty special.”

On her website, Lesley revealed that lockdown prompted “a period of introspection” which led to a “renewed commitment to painting, as well as a decision to give all money received from painting sales to charity”.

She said: “I felt a very strong desire to reach out to those in need, and realised that rather than just making a single donation, I could significantly increase my contribution by using it instead to pay for art materials and then selling my paintings and gifting all the money received to charities.”

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She has been supporting CHAS since the end of August, selling paintings through her website and donating all money made from these sales to the organisation. She also took part in the CHAS one-stop Christmas shop last month and gave a piece of art for the auction as well.

Maxine Campbell, community fund-raiser at CHAS, said: “Lesley is an incredible artist and we are extremely grateful for her support.

“Despite such a difficult year for everyone, she has given her all to CHAS and hasn’t let a global pandemic stand in the way of her fund-raising. Lesley’s generous donation will allow us to continue to support vulnerable children and their families this Christmas.”

Search for ‘Art by Lesley Carruthers’ on Facebook to view her work, or visit lesleycarruthers.co.uk.

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