Carla’s working to make a difference

Our ‘People with Big Hearts’ feature this week is Carla Belkevitz, an Advocacy Worker with MND Scotland. She tells us about the work she does for the charity, her Lithuanian heritage and her personal view on the sponsorship between the charity and Hearts.

Carla has worked for MND Scotland since March 2018. Covering the north of Scotland, she ensures people with Motor Neurone Disease receive the statutory services they are entitled to from the Government.

She didn’t have much interest in football when she was at school: “My Dad’s a Hearts supporter, but I wasn’t that fussed about football when I was younger. I was always happy to hear when they’d won!”

Coming from a Lithuanian family her interest in football began to grow in the Romanov era when players like Marius Zaliukas joined Hearts.  “There weren’t many Lithuanian connections in Scotland, this was really important for me because I feel very strongly about my family heritage and it was nice to see players from Lithuania in the team.”

This season Carla was extremely excited to buy her very first Hearts home strip as a result of the new connection between MND Scotland and the Club. “The strip is lovely and I am so delighted with the sponsorship, I think it’s tremendous and it will be amazing to see the players with the logo on their chest each week. It’s a great memory for the charity.”

As an Advocacy Worker, Carla sees first-hand how big an impact the money being raised makes in helping provide services which support people with Motor Neurone Disease to get the housing, care or adaptations they need as quickly as possible. “We didn’t have an Advocacy team until 3 years ago and it’s thanks to fundraising initiatives like the one with Hearts, that we are able to provide the services we do. It’s really important we highlight what the money raised can do for people living with MND and the changes it can make to the charity.”

Carla believes that the new sponsorship with Hearts will help to raise even more of an awareness of the illness, educate people and help them to better understand more about MND whilst also raising the profile of the charity. “Teaming up with a football club is brilliant, to see people of all ages proudly wearing their new Hearts strips and knowing that they have helped contribute towards our charity, it really is amazing.”

Carla’s Dad now lives in America and she can’t wait to send his new strip over!

Thank you to Carla for sharing her insight to a charity that is very close to many Jambo’s hearts – our charity champion!

– July 2021