Tag Archives: charity

Glasgow Childrens’ Hospital Charity appoints financial expert to board

A director with investment managers Brewin Dolphin has joined the board of directors at Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity.

With her financial expertise Vicki Drysdale hopes to help the charity in its work to support children, babies and young people treated at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow.

Shona Cardle, chief executive, Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “We’re pleased to welcome Vicky to our board of directors. I have no doubt that her considerable financial acumen will help us continue to deliver the highest level of support to the patients and families from across Scotland who attend the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow.”

An expert in financial markets and understanding the economy, Vicky has demonstrable success in manging clients’ investment portfolios. She has strategic and hands on experience in brand development, marketing and client engagement, and is a fellow of the Securities Institute.

Vicky Drysdale said: “The Charity is fantastic and makes a real difference to the children who attend the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow and I am very proud to join the board of directors.

“I wanted to join a charitable board as I was keen to put my skill set to use to give something back to society. I have learned so much during my professional career and wanted to put it to good use out with the private sector. I never take anything for granted and know there are so many people that need help and support and I am happy to contribute in some small way.”

Vicky was matched to the charity by iMultiply, a recruitment agency which offers charities seeking new board members access to its extensive network free of charge.

Following the appointment, Debbie Shields of iMultiply said: “We are passionate about supporting non-for-profit organisations and have successfully worked with a number of registered charities across Scotland.

“It’s been great to make the introduction with Vicky and Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity. Working with both has been a real pleasure and I’m sure it will be a great appointment for both parties. I look forward to hearing about their continued successes!”

Women’s Aid celebrates its 40th anniversary

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WOMEN’S AID COMMENDED FOR FOUR DECADES OF REBUILDING VICTIMS’ LIVES

Women’s Aid have been commended on their 40th anniversary for their work in giving victims the support and protection they need to help rebuild their lives.

The Charity, which provides information and support for many people who have suffered from domestic abuse, have been marking their 40^th year anniversary with a series of events which will culminate in a member’s debate in the Scottish Parliament next Tuesday led by Sandra White MSP the local MSP for Glasgow Kelvin where the charity is based.

Angela Devine Manager of Glasgow Women’s Aid said: “What helps us to be successful is the innovative and creative approach and the fact that we continually look for new ways to support women and children. What underpins this work is the really strong multi agency approach and creating strong partnerships allowing us to share information effectively so that women and children have a needs lead service. This goes a long way to make people and various agencies aware of the work we do

“We are always looking for new ways to support women and children on their journey with us through support planning and consultation. Working in schools to promote prevention, and being proactive in our approach to sending the message out that violence is not part of a healthy relationship. Outreach is the area we are keen to develop for women and look to provide refuge accommodation in the south of the city. Of course we couldn’t achieve achieve any of this without inspirational staff to drive us forward.”

Commenting, Ms White said: -“Over the last 40 years woman’s aid have helped countless woman, children and young people escape or recover from domestic abuse and if it hadn’t been for their invaluable work many of these people would have gone on to experience continued abuse or would not have been given the support they needed to come to terms with their experiences and move on with their lives.

“Sadly, the conviction rates for domestic abuse needs to be improved and there is still much work to be done to ensure that people feel able to report abuse when it happens and do everything we can to protect the victims and prosecute those perpetrating these crimes when these cases come to court.”

Flightpath Fund open to community groups and charities till 15 November

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Charities and community groups have been granted an additional four weeks to apply for a £50,000 lump sum from the Glasgow Airport FlightPath Fund.

The money will be given to the organisation which makes the most convincing case for a significant community project which will bring a lasting benefit to those living under the flightpath.

In order to be considered for the airport’s third Challenge Fund, applicants must demonstrate their project will lead to positive outcomes in at least one of three areas – education, employment and the environment.

On two previous occasions the Challenge Fund has awarded large sums to worthy projects. The community departments of Celtic and Rangers football clubs received £50,000 between them to enable educational youth football programmes to take place in Clydebank and Drumchapel.

This funding ensured 280 young people were able to benefit from more than 40 hours of coaching and workshops designed to tackle anti-social behaviour and sectarianism, while also increasing the number of young people taking part in physical activity.

And the charity Scottish Business in the Community (SBC) received £40,000 which allowed them to pilot a new project called Skills for Sustainable Tourism, which introduces young people to the career opportunities available in the tourism and hospitality sectors.

Amanda McMillan, Glasgow Airport’s managing director, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for a local community group or a national charity delivering local projects to think of a really innovative and beneficial project which would not be possible without this level of donation.

“After two successful Challenge Funds in recent years we are confident this will generate a lot of interest. Through the FlightPath Fund we support a wide range of organisations and hopefully the applications we receive will reflect this diversity.”

Bob Christie, SBC’s regional manager for Glasgow, said: “The Skills for Sustainable Tourism project was very successful and would not have been possible without the Challenge Fund money. It’s fantastic that a high-profile business such as Glasgow Airport, which directly and indirectly supports thousands of jobs in tourism and hospitality, both funded and participated in the programme.

“By committing so much of its money and time, Glasgow Airport showed it is willing to invest in the future of the young people in its community and the future of tourism in Scotland. Charities and community groups should be really excited that another Challenge Fund has been launched.”

The Challenge Fund is supported by money from the Communities Trust, formerly the BAA Communities Trust, which is the charitable arm of Glasgow Airport’s parent company.

The Communities Trust is one of the revenue streams which make up the airport’s FlightPath Fund, which was established in 2010 to ensure nearby communities share in the airport’s success.

It supports communities in those areas of Glasgow, Renfrewshire, East Dunbartonshire and West Dunbartonshire which lie under the flightpath. Each of these four local authority areas is represented on the decision-making panel.

The FlightPath Fund has awarded in excess of £550,000 to more than 150 community groups and charities, and in 2012 made awards totalling more than £200,000.

If you are a charity or community group seeking funding and your project meets the criteria below then why not apply?

To be considered a project must:

• Create a significant and sustainable benefit to the community.

• Yield positive outcomes in at least one of the following areas: education, employment and the environment.

• Benefit a significant number of people.

Applications must:

• Provide clear evidence that the project will fulfil a local need.

• Provide clear evidence of the financial viability of the project.

The closing date for applications is Friday 15 November. The Glasgow Airport FlightPath Fund’s decision-making panel will shortlist the strongest entries and the winner will be chosen by the trustees of the Communities Trust.

If you would like more information on the Challenge Fund or FlightPath Fund visit www.glasgowairport.com, e-mail flightpath@glasgowairport.com or write to FlightPath Fund, Glasgow Airport, St Andrew’s Drive, Paisley, PA3 2SW

Spring clean your wardrobe for Charity

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Marks & Spencer in Scotland today calls on customers to help in donating 500,000 unwanted or unused clothes and accessories to stores on 24th March for its first Spring ‘One Day Wardrobe Clearout’ event, in partnership with Oxfam.

The call to action comes as new research shows that charities are missing out on as much as £1.5 billion in revenue a year – three times the annual income of some of Britain’s biggest charities – as clothes are thrown out instead of being donated to charity shops.

The national clearout event, will help significantly reduce the amount of clothing going to landfill and raise crucial funds for Oxfam.

TV presenter and singer Michelle McManus will launch the campaign at M&S’ Braehead store next week (24th March, 10.00am) by donating items from her own wardrobe.

In total, 367 M&S stores are taking part and every customer that donates will receive a £5 money off voucher when they spend £35 on fashion in store, redeemable until 30th April. An advertising campaign to promote the event starring X-Factor judge and M&S model Dannii Minogue launches tomorrow.

There are 9,000 charity shops and numerous local authority recycling banks in the UK, yet despite this we are still throwing away 391 million items of clothing every year. These are clothes that could be generating much needed income for good causes.

The M&S poll of over 2,200 people also revealed that:
· When it comes to throwing away clothes, men are the worst culprits as they are twice as likely to throw clothes in the bin compared with women;
· People in Northern Ireland throw away the most clothes – on average each binning 10 items of clothing every year;
· People living in the South West and East of England throw away the fewest, but still send an average of seven items to landfill every year;
· One in five of us admit that they are more likely to keep an item of clothing they know they probably won’t wear, than donate it to a charity shop;
· 28 per cent of women would consider donating their wedding dress to charity shop;
· Our busy lifestyles are a major factor in us not recycling more clothing with a third of people citing time as a reason for not donating more;
· Three quarters of people say that the economic downturn hasn’t changed how much they donate to charities and 15 per cent even say they are giving more since the start of the credit crunch.

Laura Mitchell, Braehead M&S store manager, said: “It’s clear that far too many clothes still go to landfill when they could be making money for charities and helping the environment. We’re calling on our customers to donate their clothes: it’s an easy way to make a difference and you get a great M&S money-off voucher.”

Oxfam’s Director of Trading David McCullough said: “The M&S and Oxfam Clothes Exchange has been an incredibly successful partnership for us. The generosity of the thousands of M&S customers who have donated to our shops has helped us raise more than £3.5million to support our ongoing work fighting poverty around the world. The Spring wardrobe clearout will help us raise even more money, and for anyone that can’t make it on the day they can still take unwanted clothing to their nearest Oxfam shop all year-round.”

For more information visit the M & S website or the Oxfam website