Glasgow artist and Kilbryde Hospice ambassador Robert Miller has donated over £21,000 to the emergency COVID-19 Appeal by raffling off his paintings online.
Along with his wife May, Robert held a series of Facebook Live raffles in answer to the crisis-hit charity’s cry for help – and the response has been incredible.
The kind-hearted couple are ambassadors of the hospice, and in the last six years, have raised a whopping £120,000 through their popular annual Gay Ball held at Glasgow’s Hilton Hotel.
The musical duo, who regularly perform in East Kilbride’s Village Theatre, are longstanding supporters of the hospice and regularly donate Robert’s eye-catching artwork to auctions at hospice events.
With the coronavirus pandemic putting the brakes on the January 2021 ball, Robert and May wanted to do all they could during lockdown to help pull the charity out of its current funding crisis.
Artwork raffled for thousands of pounds included portraits of Celine Dion, Twiggy and Boy George.
May told the News : “The Kilbryde Hospice is a fabulous facility which is really badly needed in Lanarkshire – the treatment patients get is amazing.
“With the Gay Ball not happening next year because of the lockdown, we wanted to keep giving to the hospice in some way and started doing live raffles on Facebook giving Robert’s art away.
“We couldn’t believe the response – we got £21,050 from just four raffles.”
Kilbryde Hospice provides care to people in Lanarkshire with life-limiting illnesses, and offers support to their carers and loved ones.
The News kicked off its ‘Save Our Hopsice’ campaign in May in a bid to help the vital end-of-life care centre survive the coronavirus pandemic.
With losses of £300,000 since the start of lockdown and £2.9m needed annually to keep it afloat, Kilbryde needs community donations more than ever.
Since the lifeline charity launched its emergency COVID-19 Appeal there has been an overwhelming response with thousands of pounds rolling in each week.
As well as providing the hospice with some fantastic paintings to display across their building, Robert is renowned for gifting an iconic piece of art to Glasgow Royal Infirmary .
The striking painting of three frontline NHS workers – a nurse, anaesthetist and physiotherapist – was mounted outside the hospital’s intensive care unit last month.
The health board had asked Robert to create a piece of work to commemorate the “dedication” of the hospital’s staff and give them their place in history.
He refused payment for painting and framing the 5x4ft picture.
Robert said he was “honoured” to be asked to paint the staff, which he copied from photographs.
He said: “The Royal has such a special place in the hearts of Glaswegians, and it’s amazing staff have been at the heart of the city’s response to the pandemic.
“The staff are all wearing masks in the picture so it was more important for me than ever to capture their eyes well.
“I hope people like it and they take a minute to think of the enormity of the situation we’ve been facing.
“Who knows how long it will hang there but it’s been good to be part of marking the dedication of our amazing NHS.
“We are truly lucky.”
