Charity faces biggest challenge in 155-year history

Sue Freeth, VSA chief executive, said that the charity needed to find new ways of delivering and meeting people's needs

An Aberdeen social care charity is asking for its biggest ever level of support from the community in the organisation's 155-year history, due to services becoming "unsustainable".

Voluntary Service Aberdeen (VSA) is set to launch a new long-term strategy and marketing campaign to try and get back on course after using up more than £3m in reserves to stay afloat.

VSA provides services for more than 2,000 children and adults in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.

Chief executive Sue Freeth said that at present the funds were "not available" just to continue running its current services.

The new campaign for VSA - which runs facilities like care homes - aims to raise more funds and awareness of the charity's work in the face of financial pressures.

Since 2020, the demand for services and their costs has gone beyond the level of support from local councils, the charity said.

The £3m spent from reserves in the last five years has effectively used up the organisation's savings.

Launching the new strategy, including the search for more volunteers, Ms Freeth said "times have never been more challenging" for the charity which was founded in 1870.

She added: "We can barely run the services we have now with the funds that we receive.

"The model of working is not one we can continue.

"The core message of the campaign is to help us save social care, so we can have the care that people actually want to have in the community and make care the heart of the community."