Schools in South Lanarkshire have bagged £21,000 for local charities after identifying social issues in their communities.
Each of the seven schools involved in the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) received £3000 following presentations to secure the funding.
The top three social issues this year were support for those facing health and ability conditions; services to address mental health and wellbeing; and action to tackle poverty in Scotland’s communities.
Three East Kilbride high schools including Calderglen High, Duncanrig Secondary and St Andrew's and St Bride's High were part of The Wood Foundation programme - as were Hamilton Grammar and Holy Cross High in Hamilton.
Meanwhile Lanark Grammar and Uddingston Grammar were also part of the charity funding success.
South Lanarkshire charities chosen by the schools set to benefit for the funding are...
| Calderglen High School |
AGAPE Wellbeing |
| Duncanrig Secondary School |
SAVI Kids |
| Hamilton Grammar School |
The Haven |
| Holy Cross High School |
Baby Bank Scotland |
| Lanark Grammar School |
Carluke Day Centre |
| St Andrew's & St Bride's High School |
The Halliday Foundation |
| Uddingston Grammar School |
Hamilton Food Bank |
Ali MacLachlan, UK Director at The Wood Foundation, applauded the Lanarkshire students' efforts.
He told Lanarkshire Live : “Young people raising awareness of social issues and ensuring this vital funding reached communities at a time of acute need is so important.
“We are incredibly proud of the dedication and commitment shown by schools and students to ensure this important learning and funding opportunity continued with such vigour despite all the challenges of the school year from COVID-19.
“Giving young people a platform and a voice to lead their learning and make a difference to the issues they saw first-hand locally took on additional significance in a year when so much autonomy was taken away.
“We have been blown away by many of the presentations and have great hope that our young people are an exciting force for change.”
Nationally, 220 schools took part in the programme this year channelling £660,000 to charities.
Since it was launched in Scotland in 2008, the active citizenship programme YPI has been responsible for more than £5million being granted to local charities championed by young people.
It is Scotland’s largest independent initiative being delivered in education, having empowered more than 230,000 young people to advocate for causes they care passionately about while developing vital skills.
As an education programme, teachers believe that YPI is improving young people’s skills for learning, life, and work in areas such as teamwork, decision making, research, creativity, communication, problem solving and resilience.
They also believe students are becoming more empathetic and engaged in their communities, better able to discuss social issues and committing to be active citizens.
The Wood Foundation is a venture philanthropic organisation committed to addressing social inequity and investing in developing young people in Scotland, as well as economic investment in the UK and East Africa.
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