ScotRail has teamed up with My Name’5 Doddie Foundation to help find a cure for Motor Neurone Disease (MND).
The train operator is providing the charity with smartcards to allow Doddie and his team to travel across Scotland for free and help improve the lives of those affected by Motor Neurone Disease.
My Name'5 Doddie Foundation was founded by Doddie Weir OBE in 2017, following the former Scotland rugby international’s public announcement that he was suffering from MND.
Since then, the Foundation has provided over £150,000 to MND Scotland to distribute via its small grants scheme - to help people living with MND adapt their homes, and to fund respite activities for carers.
The vast majority of the funds raised by My Name’5 Doddie Foundation is invested into Motor Neuron Disease research.
James Ledgerwood, ScotRail Head of Economic Development & Communities, said:
“My Name’5 Doddie Foundation is a wonderful organisation that is doing some great work to support Motor Neurone Disease patients and their families, as well as working to find a cure.
“By providing the foundation with free travel, it will allow Doddie to continue to make a difference to the lives of people most affected by MND, so we’re thrilled to be able to play a small part in that.”
Doddie Weir OBE, Founder of My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, said:
“I use the train regularly to travel around and find the service absolutely invaluable.
“The ScotRail Smartcards will have a direct benefit to the Foundation as it allows me to get to where I need to be, and the support they have given us means we can concentrate on the aims and goals of our charity.
“My Name’5 Doddie Foundation is committed to making a difference to the lives of those given this awful diagnosis, and we want to help find a cure and support families living with MND.
“Thank you to everyone at ScotRail who has made this possible.”
About My Name'5 Doddie Foundation
My Name'5 Doddie Foundation is committed to raising funds to aid research into the causes of Motor Neuron Disease and investigate potential cures, and to make grants to individuals suffering from MND, to enable them to live as fulfilled a life as possible.
About Motor Neurone Disease
Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is a rapidly progressing terminal illness, which stops signals from the brain reaching the muscles. This may cause someone to lose the ability to walk, talk, eat, drink or breathe unaided. There is currently no cure or effective treatment for MND and the average life expectancy from diagnosis is just 14 months. There are over 450 people in Scotland currently living with MND and on average over 160 new cases of MND are diagnosed each year.