Grangemouth handyman nears £40k fundraising goal for Strathcarron Hospice

A Grangemouth resident has raised nearly £40,000 for Strathcarron Hospice through his years of fundraising.

Malcom Finlayson, known as Malky to the people of Grangemouth, is a retired handyman who hasn’t quite left behind his working life for the peace of retirement.

Malky Finlayson has been selling handcrafted wooden Christmas trees and planters over the years to raise money for Strathcarron Hospice. (Michael Gillen).

placeholder image — Malky Finlayson has been selling handcrafted wooden Christmas trees and planters over the years to raise money for Strathcarron Hospice. (Michael Gillen).

He previously worked as a handyman then at ICI in Grangemouth where he spent 29 years as a fire and safety officer, before spending his remaining working days with a local plumbing firm.

Putting his skillset to use, Malky has been crafting planters and wooden Christmas trees in his back garden for the last three years and has repeatedly hit fundraising milestones as he trades his creations for cash.

His journey began back in 2023 with a tally of 160 wooden flower boxes and around 100 Christmas trees built, and £2,050 raised for the cancer support charity. The idea stemmed from witnessing “iffy” plant boxes other people had built on Facebook, and has since blossomed into a mammoth fundraiser that shows no signs of slowing down.

Now, Malky has raised £39,320 and hopes to hit his new goal of £40,000 before the year’s out.

However, hitting £40,000 isn’t his final goal as Malky plans to raise as much money for the charity as possible.

He said: “I’m going to keep on going as long as I’m able.”

IBT Merchants in Grangemouth has helped Malky on his fundraising journey by providing materials free of charge, for which the handyman is “very grateful”.

People can place orders via Malky’s Facebook page. Large trees are selling for £10 while small ones are priced at £5, and various types of planters are available to choose from.