AFTER 11 years raising £13million for sick youngsters in Glasgow, the Yorkhill Children's Foundation is to expand its services.

Actress Kelly Macdonald and two former patients from the Royal Hospital For Sick Children helped the organisation relaunch itself in Glasgow.

It has been renamed Yorkhill Children's Charity.

The Foundation had donated all its fundraising cash to the Yorkhill hospital, but bosses plan to expand the charity's services to support the treatment and care of children and their families on a local, national and international level.

This means it will raise funds for any hospital or community-based organisation helping sick kids.

Chief executive Shona Cardle said: "Our vision is to be the leading children's health charity in Scotland.

"We are already helping children across Scotland through our support of the Royal Hospital For Sick Children and the national services it provides, such as cardiology, neonatal and paediatric intensive care.

"Additionally, we have committed to raise significant funds to enhance service provision at the new children's hospital in Glasgow when it opens in 2015."

"We want to expand that further and are willing to consider funding any hospital or community-based initiative that helps save or improve the life of a child and, by association, positively affects the lives of their family.

"This could include innovative medical equipment, paediatric research, play activities or child and family support."

Bosses said Yorkhill would remain at the heart of their work and would receive increasing support.

New projects include the funding and development of paediatric research projects with Glasgow and Strathclyde universities that will benefit children in Scotland and internationally.

There is also a continuing partnership with the St Andrews Society of the State of New York following a joint fundraising event to benefit Yorkhill Children's Charity and New York Presbyterian Hospital Centre For Children's Health.

It will raise £450,000 each year to fund play activities for children at Yorkhill and the Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley.

David Welch, the charity's director of fundraising, added: "Our core activity of supporting Yorkhill Hospital will not change."

Kelly Macdonald, currently starring in TV show Boardwalk Empire, said: "I feel privileged to live in the city that houses Yorkhill Hospital. I love all the doctors and nurses that work there and wish Yorkhill Children's Charity every success."

catriona.stewart@ eveningtimes.co.uk