About Us
AC Ceilidh
AC Ceilidh is a fundraising organisation that also raises awareness of the charities we support.
Our aim is:
(a) To work with frontline charities to understand their needs and help them achieve their goals.
(b) To create an annual event that provides focus for selected charities and local companies across all commercial sectors, increasing awareness of the charities in the local community and broadening their networks.
Our Charitable Purposes are:
(1) the advancement of the arts, heritage, culture and science
(2) the advancement of community development
(3) the advancement of education
(4) the relief of poverty
Historically we have organised fundraising ceilidh in Peterculter and more recently the Aberdeen Beach Ballroom, a grand venue. We have raised funds for UNICEF, MSF and Scottish Refugee Council, CFINE, REFEO, Charlies House and Big Noise Torry. Also, more social affairs as a Thank You to the NHS (they (ARI) had a ball which in the middle of Covid was quite a feat).
AC Ceilidh at Beach Ballroom 4th February 2023
Our annual event, the Ceilidh, is the vehicle that provides the focus for local companies to participate and therefore become aware of our charities; Grampian Women’s Aid, and get involved as much as they like. It will be a key aim of our charity to promote GWA and the supporting companies by using our website and regular communication with our database.
Jeb Tyrie, Founder
Jeb is an engineer in the oil industry but has been involved, off and on, with charities since his student days.
He has run small companies covering consultancy, software and oil and gas. Jeb has volunteered for the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) throughout his 4-decade career, organising events, presenting papers, chairing conferences and the SPE in Aberdeen.
Ceilidhs appeared as a fundraising event in 2011 when Vicki proposed we support UNICEF, see below. The latest ceilidh in 2021 was a thank you to the NHS, and in particular the radiography staff.
Sarah Millar,
CFINE Marketing and PR Officer
Sarah has worked at CFINE for just over a year and has a degree in Journalism and Marketing.
At CFINE Sarah oversees the Marketing and PR, which involves social media and the website as well as dealing with events, aspects of fundraising and working with members of the public and corporate businesses who want to support CFINE. CFINE is a charity and social enterprise, and our core purpose is to improve health and well-being and the environment, tackle poverty and build resilience for and with disadvantaged and vulnerable individuals, families, and communities. For more information visit www.cfine.org
Vicki Halliburton, Founder
Vicki is a social worker, recently retired, who worked with vulnerable families for many years.
Our first Ceilidh was in 2011 to raise funds for UNICEF and travel with them on a sponsor’s trek through Jordan and to see the work that they did in supporting children, in particular girls.
We went on to organise another ceilidh to raise funds for Scottish Refugee Council and Medicine Sans Frontier.
Mariam Diakite, Founder of REFEO and Chairperson
She is a qualified Senior Programme Manager with extensive experience leading UK programmes as well as international programmes that support refugees access to employment, education, legal advice and healthcare.
Mariam Diakite founded REFEO in 2016 after she witnessed the challenges her partner, a refugee, faced trying to access higher education in the UK. REFEO was officially registered in April 2019, charity number 1182800 with a mission to help UK refugees access higher education and employment.
Beth Kemp, REFEO Aberdeen Representative
Beth has recently started her professional career in the charity sector with Oxfam.
She previously volunteered for REFEO, and still does, and introduced REFEO to AC Ceilidh. REFEO supports refugees into education and employment.
REFEO was then adopted as our first charity. It is the aim of AC Ceilidh not simply to fundraise but help REFEO through our network to collect second-hand laptops, phones and accessories to equip refugees and asylum seekers with the tools they need to complete their education and restart their careers in a new country.