Bo'ness Belles mark 10th anniversary with cheque handover to Bo'ness Car 4U

Bo’ness Belles was set up in 2013 by Jeni Mallice who was aware that elderly people in care homes often get lonely and she thought by going along to sing some Christmas carols it might brighten their day.

She asked if anyone would join her and around ten other women came along to Bo’ness Hospital and a local care home.

Jeni said: “It really just grew from there. Nowadays we still sing at various different care homes and are finding new ones all the time. Normally it’s word of mouth and we are recommended by others.”

The Belles also fundraise throughout the year and handover cash to one charity each year. Last week, they handed over a cheque for over £5700 to Bon’ess Car 4U, which provides volunteer drivers to take cancer patients to hospital appointments.

Jeni added: “Over the years we’ve given to Bo’ness Hospital, Falkirk Autistic Bairns, the Tuesday Club and Thursday Group for dementia sufferers and to Bo’ness Storehouse food bank. We’ve given away £34,000 to date and we’re aiming to make that £40,000 to mark our tenth year.”

This year they also want to give money away to ten local charities and will shortly be asking for nominations. The Belles will also run a fundraising quiz night in the Bridgeness Club on May 12 and plan to host a public concert later this year.

Jeni said: “We had a couple of difficult years with the pandemic but we continued to rehearse online and hold singing challenges to keep everyone involved.”