Local Students Secure £21,000 For Local Charities

Secondary school students in Dumfries & Galloway have been responsible for a vital funding boost of £21,000 to local charities through their involvement in the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI).

The seven schools committed to The Wood Foundation programme which sees young people work in teams to identify social issues impacting their communities and the charities addressing them. They then develop creative presentations in a bid to secure their school’s £3000 grant.

The top three social issues securing YPI funding 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.

Ali MacLachlan, UK Director at The Wood Foundation, said:

“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 £5m 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.

YPI is managed and majority funded by The Wood Foundation and is supported by a network of likeminded funding partners. Locally it is supported by the Holywood Trust.

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. It was established by its Chairman Sir Ian Wood and his family in 2007.

Dumfries & Galloway