About us
The Eric Liddell Community is an Edinburgh care charity and community hub founded in 1980, in memory of the inspirational Olympic gold medallist, Eric Liddell whose win in the 1924 Paris Olympics was the subject of the film ‘Chariots of Fire’.
The charity is housed in a beautiful converted former church giving home to our caring services and community hub.
About us
We are passionate about providing key services to people living with dementia and their carers across Edinburgh, while bringing the local community together in our Community Hub in Morningside.
Our clients and our community are at the core of everything we do: we provide a specialist dementia Day Care Service, along with further dementia support programmes and a wide ranging programme of support for unpaid carers.
All of the services we run are designed to bring us closer to our vision to live in a community where no one feels lonely or isolated. We listen to the people who use our services and use that feedback to continuously improve the services we offer to them.
We have a growing staff team who all bring their professional and lived experience to better meet the needs of those people in our community who need us most. We live out our values in our work; we are compassionate, respectful, inclusive, people-centred, sustainable and led by integrity.
We welcome and invite the local community to join a range of health and wellbeing and community activities from parent and baby groups, fitness classes and yoga hosted in our vibrant Community Hub. We also offer a range of rooms which can be hired for functions or longer-term use, as well as office space.
Our in-house community café, Café Connect, is led by our Chef and Nutritionist, who prepares wholesome meals to our visitors Monday to Friday. The café is open to the public to drop in for lunch or coffee and cake.
Our Services
Dementia Support
We offer a vibrant weekday day service for people living with dementia, a befriending service and a community programme of dementia-inclusive activities.
Carers Programme
We offer free health and wellbeing classes and events, Dementia Inclusive Lunches, Music Therapy and a Befriending Service.
Community
Hub
In our community hub we host all sorts of activities and classes for all ages. We also have a warm, welcoming Café!
Find us
Find out where we are, get directions and access other useful information about our building and visiting us.
Our Vision
To live in a community where no-one feels lonely or isolated
Our Mission
To bring people together in their local communities to enhance health and wellbeing and have a positive impact on their lives
Our Values
Compassionate
We care for each other and our community
Respectful
We treat everyone with dignity
Inclusive
We ensure fair treatment and opportunity for all
People Centred
We keep our community at the heart of everything we do
Sustainability
We look after our people and our planet
Led by Integrity
We keep our promises
Meet our team
The Eric Liddell Community is led by John MacMillan, CEO and a devoted team of staff, all of whom are specialists in their own field.
John MacMillan: CEO
John’s remit at The Eric Liddell Community is to lead the Charity and the development of The Eric Liddell 100.
John has a detailed experience of community development, working with individuals, groups and communities, along with an in-depth knowledge of funding streams, service, staff and project management. He has also just finished his term as Trustee with the Scottish Commission for People with a Learning Disability and is passionate about making a difference to the lives and circumstances of individuals, groups and communities.
John has previous experience as an Associate Inspector of Education with HMIe and is presently a member of the Chartered Management Institute, the Institute of Fundraising and the Advisory Council for the Scotland China Education Network. John is a former professional musician, ski instructor, basketball and football coach.
Dementia and Carers Team
Our Dementia Service and Care Project Team are working hard to deliver high quality services to meet the needs of people living with dementia and their unpaid carers.
If you would like to enquire about our Dementia Day Service, please contact Caroline Heenan, Day Care Manager at heenanc@ericliddell.org or if you would like to know more about our programmes for unpaid carers, please get in touch with Irene McCarthy, Carer Support and Development Officer at McCarthyI@ericliddell.org
Building Operations Team
Our Operations Team looks after the building to ensure that everything is ready to welcome our clients and customers in our Community Hub.
If you would like to contact Julie Carter, Building Operations Manager, please email carterj@ericliddell.org or for general inquires, please contact our Front Desk at frontdesk@ericliddell.org
Fundraising Team
Our Fundraising Team raise crucial funds to support the delivery of our much needed caring services and community hub. This is also supported by our Volunteer Coordinator who leads our successful and engaging volunteering programme.
If you would like to get in touch with our Fundraising Team, please email Paul Drury, Head of Fundraising and Caring Services at druryp@ericliddell.org
If you would like to enquire about volunteering, please contact Rhona Hunter, Volunteer Coordinator at hh@ericliddell.org
Finance Team & Support Team
Our Finance Team is responsible for the efficient operation of the charity’s financial recording and reporting systems.
If you would like to contact our Finance Team, please email Kenny Edwards, Finance Manager at edwardsk@ericliddell.org
On our Support Team, we have Caroline Clark, Programme Manager, who provides a key role within The Eric Liddell 100; and Zsofia Beata Dodds, Executive Officer who looks after our communications and supports the work of the CEO, COO and Senior Management Team, along with the Board of Trustees.
If you would like to contact Caroline, please email clarkc@ericliddell.org or if you would like to get in touch with Zsofia, please email molnarz@ericliddell.org
Our Patrons
& Trustees
We are delighted that our charitable work is recognised and supported by our Patrons, Lord David Puttnam CBE, Professor Alexander McCall-Smith CBE, Sue Liddell Caton and HRH The Princess Royal who is the Patron of our The Eric Liddell 100.
Our Board of Trustees have overall control and management of our charity and are responsible for making sure that we work to deliver our charitable purposes.
About our building
The Eric Liddell Community is based in a converted church at Edinburgh’s Holy Corner.
At the time of its naming, there were four churches situated on the four corners of the road junction linking Colinton Road and Morningside Road, thus earning the name ‘Holy Corner’.
The Community’s building was formerly Morningside North Parish Church and it has been extensively modified to meet the needs of the charity and community which use the building.
One striking feature that remains from the former church is the stained glass which comprises an interesting and varied collection by a number of important 19th and 20th century artists. The windows were restored in 2008 with help from Historic Scotland and the Heritage Lottery Fund.
When the church was built it would probably have been glazed with windows to the pattern of the remaining leaded coloured glass windows. As funds became available, or spaces for memorial windows were required, the original leaded lights were removed and stained and painted glass windows installed.
We are proud to house several exquisite stain glass windows, some of the best examples on 20th Century stain glass in Scotland by artists such as William Wilson RSA (1905-1972) Herbert Hendrie (1887-1947) John Duncan (1866-1945) Margaret Chilton (1875-1962) Marjorie Kemp (1886-1975) and John Richard (1827-1913).
The names of Dickson & Walker, an Edinburgh firm which made leaded windows, appear on the original drawing so it is reasonable to assume that they were responsible for the original glazing. The individuals who were responsible for commissioning artists obviously had considerable knowledge and ensured that the windows matched harmoniously within the building.
There is a book available with high quality colour photographs of the windows and details of the artists.
For information about coming to view our windows, please contact Front Desk at frontdesk@ericliddell.org or call 0131 447 4520.
Our Supporters
We would like to thank the following funders for their ongoing support which allows us to provide vital services to people living with dementia and their carers.
