Aberdeen’s street pastors are used to long patrols to help those in need, but this weekend they swapped the city centre for the countryside to raise vital funds to support their work.
Set up in the Granite City in 2007, the street pastor team listen to, care for and assist vulnerable people, making sure they get home safely after a night out.
On Saturday, 12 of the volunteers took to the Deeside Way for a sponsored 18-mile walk to raise cash to enable them to carry on their work.
Eleanor Forbes, a retired nurse who has been volunteering for the pastors since the group’s inception, was among those who walked from Banchory to Duthie Park.
The 67-year-old said: “We’ve not got a final total yet, but we’ve made at least £1,500 so far, which is absolutely terrific.
“I’m really happy that so many of us made it on the day, and we got to Duthie Park a lot quicker than we thought we would have, but it was still a really long walk.
“We got sponsorship from friends, family and church members, and all the money will go directly into our fund.
“We’ve got big demands, we’ve got our Safe Space truck on Belmont Street which takes up a lot of funds, and obviously the training of new Street Pastors wouldn’t be possible without fundraisers like these.”
To support the group, visit www.aberdeen.streetpastors.org.uk or text 70070 to ABSP10 to donate £3.
