Good causes have benefited from £4000 raised through West Lothian Council’s Community Payback unpaid work order scheme.
West Lothian Women’s Aid have been given £3000 and the Dignity Boxes charity received £1000 from money generated through the sale of scrap metal.
Many people given a Community Payback Order (CPO) by the courts take part in unpaid work as part of their community sentence. One of the projects they undertake involves repairing bikes which are then passed onto local charities, and any bikes which cannot be repaired are then sent to scrap to redeem the value of the metal.
WLWA provide safe, temporary accommodation to women, children and young people in West Lothian who have experienced domestic abuse, while Dignity Boxes Free make basic toiletries available to people across the Lothians experiencing social deprivation.
WLWA manager, Ilena Brown, said: “West Lothian Women’s Aid are delighted to benefit from this valuable donation at this time. The funds will go towards the provision of group support and counselling to enable women to recover from their experiences of domestic abuse.”
Dignity Boxes founder Isabel Dosser added: “Dignity Boxes is grateful for this kind donation from the CPO service and applaud the work that they do in West Lothian.
“This donation will help support the charity in a number of ways, including printing and marketing of their new identity in posters and other formats as well as buy boxes for storage and donations.”
Depute council leader, Kirsteen Sullivan, said: “It’s great to see two fantastic charities benefit from the council’s Community Payback Unpaid Work scheme. Both West Lothian Women’s Aid and Dignity Boxes carry out important work to help the local residents and deserve this additional support.”
Executive councillor for social policy, Angela Doran, added: “I am delighted to see that the Community Payback Unpaid Work scheme is helping give back to the community in West Lothian.”
