Our Charity Work

We are pleased to support local charities and give donations to hundreds of worthy causes every year. We try to take every opportunity to contribute to the wider community.

Our company pays a proportion of any profit we make to charity. In 2023/24 we have donated to Medecins Sans Frontieres, Macmillan Cancer Support, Highland Hospice, The Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, Bethany Christian Trust, The Green Team and Marie Curie.

We give away one complimentary pass (for 2 adults and 2 children) to a worthy cause every day of the year and we allocate a percentage of these to Ukrainian refugees.

If you are interested in receiving a charitable donation as a prize for an upcoming raffle, please email us at info@camera-obscura.co.uk and attach a formal request on your organisation’s headed letter, or provide a letter of support/authorisation issued by the charity for which you are fundraising; this should state the nature of your fundraising and the planned date of your event. Make sure you include the best address to post the pass to as well. If you are a Ukrainian refugee who would like to visit on a complimentary basis, email us at info@camera-obscura.co.uk with proof of Ukrainian citizenship, the number of tickets you would like and a preferred date.

We will aim to get in touch within 2 weeks. However, if you do not hear from us within this time, on this occasion you have been unsuccessful.

Our staff recently voted to have Edinburgh Dog & Cat Home as one of our chosen charities! We're collecting donations in our gift shop and we hope to work closely with EDCH over the coming year to support them. The current energy crisis has had a huge impact on the Home and they're needing even more support to keep up the great work they do. Get to know more about them by reading their statement:

"Here at Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home, we give our all to keep loving homes whole and keep pets where they belong – with their families. When that’s not possible, we take them in and love them as if they’re our own. That means the best level of care possible, from food and veterinary care to toys and training. An animal’s love never stops. It’s unconditional and unlimited, day in, day out. That’s why we have taken the same approach with everyone who comes through our doors, four legs or two, since 1883.

Part of our mission is to raise awareness of pet poverty and support pets and their owners with open doors and open minds. Facing difficult times shouldn’t stop you from keeping the dog or cat you love in the home that loves them. When it comes to caring for the people and pets of East and Central Scotland, we never give up. Since launching our pet foodbank Paws Pantry in 2020, we have partnered with 70 human foodbanks to provide essential pet items, and the demand is only increasing."

"The cost-of-living crisis has hit the Home’s running costs hard. Inflation has increased our running costs to £3 million per year, and with our supporters giving less, the Home is continuously having to innovate to raise vital funds to ensure we are still able to support the community with our services."

To find out more and support them, please visit their website here. Thank you.

The Green Team has a mission to provide transformational outdoor activities that connect children and young people to nature, others and self. They have been running programmes across Edinburgh and the Lothians since 1995, and support children and young to get involved with:

• Environmental conservation tasks such as tree-planting or building wildlife habitats
• Outdoor education including wildlife identification and nature storytelling
• Nature connection activities, for example, wildlife tracking or natural arts/crafts
• Wilderness survival skills including fire-lighting and whittling
• Playing through stealth games or with mud-kitchens
• Exploration with river-walks, navigation skills training and much more

Projects take place in a variety of local greenspaces and encourage a great understanding, appreciation and care for nature and local greenspaces. They also support children and young people to overcome challenges, achieve awards and fulfil their potential through building confidence, making friends, developing skills and enhanced wellbeing. Young People like Sammy:

“I’ve been getting into a lot of bother these past few weeks, but this day has given me the opportunity to do something to take care of myself and give something back to nature too. That feels really good”.

We were delighted to donate a portion of our 2023 profits to them to help fund their vital work in our home, Edinburgh.