Highland Young Philanthropists Secure £72,000 in Funding for Local Charities

3rd July 2016

Winning secondary school teams from across Scotland recently attended the Youth Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) Scotland's "Festival of Philanthropy" at Perth Concert Hall (on 21 June). This year 24 of the 27 Highland based schools took part in the YPI programme and their winning teams were at the national event to celebrate their success and the inspirational way they have become involved in prominent social issues within their local area.

Since its introduction in Scotland by the Wood Foundation in 2008, the YPI programme has seen the number of schools involved from across Scotland grow from 10 to 195 and has granted over £1.9million to small local Scottish charities. Nearly £600,000 in funding was granted in this academic year alone with the winning Highland teams securing £72,000 for their chosen charities.

Talking about the YPI programme and the event Sir Ian Wood, Chairman of The Wood Foundation said, “YPI is one of the most exciting programmes in The Wood Foundation portfolio - high impact and very much enjoyed by young people in schools. It provides a unique opportunity for them to understand the challenges and needs within their local community, and the opportunity to get involved and make a difference, with their first real experience of philanthropy.”

“Our annual YPI Scotland National Event is a great celebration of the huge achievements of these young people from across Scotland over the last 12 months, with a number of the winning schools highlighting some very exciting projects. It also highlights the success and growth of the programme across Scotland over the last eight years. There were 1,000 youngsters attending this year’s event out of over 26,000 young people involved in the last year, and a remarkable 80,000 young people since we started.”

“In the past year, 195 small charities across Scotland will each have received £3,000, but more importantly a significant number of the 26,000 youngsters involved have undergone a mind-set change understanding the challenges in their community and realising that they can actually do something to contribute. Many of those continue to volunteer or fundraise, and a reasonable number will become good philanthropists in the future. We’re very proud of the YPI programme and of the great team we have delivering it.” Sir Ian Wood, concluded.

Jim Steven, Highland Council’s Head of Education said: “This session, hundreds of Highland secondary pupils in 24 schools from Kinlochbervie to Kinlochleven have worked with a wide range of local charities to raise awareness of the important work going on in their communities. In so doing, they have been able to develop their research, teamwork, communication and presentation skills while ensuring 24 £3000 grants were distributed to charities in all four corners of the region. It's a tremendous initiative.”

Mark Beaumont, the record-breaking long-distance British cyclist, adventurer, broadcaster, documentary maker and author, who has recently completed his “Africa Solo” cycling expedition and is a Philanthropy Ambassador for The Wood Foundation was the keynote speaker at the event.

Highland schools and their chosen charities:

Alness Academy, The Highland Hospice
Charleston Academy, Newstart (Highland)
Culloden Academy, to be confirmed
Dingwall Academy, The Shirley Project
Dornoch Academy, Tykes
Gairloch High School, to be confirmed
Golspie High School, Tykes
Grantown Grammar School, Grantown 1st Rainbow Guide Unit
Invergordon Academy, Birchwood Highland
Inverness High School, The Highland Hospice
Inverness Royal Academy, Scottish Men’s Shed Association - Men’s Shed Inverness
Kingussie High School, Cairngorms RDA Group
Kinlochleven High School, Kinlochlovin’
Lochaber High School, Highland Disability Sport
Mallaig High School, Mallaig and District Swimming Pool Association
Millburn Academy, The Salvation Army – Inverness Resettlement
Nairn Academy, to be confirmed
lockton High School, Rag Tag ‘n’ Textile
Tain Royal Academy, SCBU Highland Health Board Endowment Fund
Thurso High School, North Highland Cancer Info & Support Centre
Wick High School, RNLI – Wick Lifeboat
Glen Urquhart High School, Glen Urquhart Care Project
Kinlochbervie High School, Assynt Mountain Rescue Organisation
Portree High School, AM Fasgadh