Stella Maris (Apostleship of the Sea) was the grateful recipients of a £750 cheque on account of our sterling work in the Port of Grangemouth.
Port operator Forth Ports Scotland organised a Golf Charity Event to raise funds for us. Rev. Joe O’Donnell, Stella Maris Senior Regional Port Chaplain for Scotland, was presented with the cheque in the seafaring centre at Grangemouth Docks.
Paul Hallas, who is in charge of Vessel Traffic System and monitors all marine traffic in the busy Port, organised the Golf Charity Event which raised the funds along with some raffle prizes.
Deacon Joe said, “We offer our sincere thanks to Forth Ports for this wonderful generosity. It’s great to know our work in helping seafarers is so much appreciated. Quite often they are thousands of miles away from family and friends when they arrive on these shores.
He added, “The whole team including Alan McPherson, the chief Harbour Master, Paul Hallas and PA Mary Stevenson are so supportive of what our charity does in the area.”
Stella Maris is preparing to celebrate our Centenary in Glasgow later this year, having originally been founded on the banks of the River Clyde back in 1920.
Two years ago, a Croatian Seafarer was badly burned while working in a confined space on an oil tanker in Grangemouth which caused burns from the waist down and required a skin graft operation in Glasgow Royal Infirmary.
Deacon Joe supported him throughout his time in hospital. More recently, Stella Maris answered a desperate call for help from the crew of a cargo ship, enabling them to carry on their journey to the Baltic States.
On arrival in Grangemouth, the first thing a mixed crew of Filipino, Sri Lankan and Ukrainian seafarers requested was some much-needed warm clothes while preparing for the next leg of their mammoth journey to the Baltics.