Wick-based young carers charity, Caithness KLICS, has benefited from a donation of £1,000 from BEAR Scotland, the trunk road operator in the area.

Caithness KLICS was set up ten years ago and supports young carers between 5 and 18 years old who are caring for a person who has any kind of illness, disability or addiction within their family or community.

Young carers tend to have extra responsibilities, like doing chores, looking after young children, and handling medication. This means young carers can miss out on school and social lives. Caithness KLICS gives these young carers a place to have fun and be children again without having to worry about anything else.

This donation is part of BEAR Scotland’s local charity initiative that seeks nominations from staff for worthy regional causes to receive support. Caithness KLICS was nominated by North West Engagement Manager, Kim Thain, because it means a lot to her family.

Wendy Thain, Caithness KLICS Manager, said: “We were delighted to be selected and recognised by BEAR to receive a donation of a £1000. That’s such a great amount of money that we will definitely be able to spend on our Young Carers.

“We usually do lots of stuff around Christmas with all the kids like the local Panto, Santa-land and teenage lunches that this will be a great boost of money to help towards spoiling the young carers. Our unsung heroes deserve to be spoilt so thank you BEAR and a big thank you to Kim for nominating us.”

Iain Murray, BEAR Scotland Managing Director, said: “Caithness KLICS does so much for young carers in the North of Scotland to ensure they have a chance to enjoy the things they should be able to in childhood but are limited because of the unpaid responsibilities that they have as a carer.

“Being able to help people of all ages highlights the reason why we are committed to providing support to regional and local causes where BEAR Scotland operates.”

Find out more about Caithness KLICS and the work they do here: https://caithnessklics.org/