Enterprising youngsters have raised more than £33,000 for a variety of good causes throughout Perthshire and Kinross.
The charitable work by kind-hearted students was recognised at a ceremony in Perth on Tuesday. The event was part of a festival organised by the Youth Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) Scotland and featured an inspirational presentation by record-breaking long-distance cyclist Mark Beaumont.
This year, 11 schools from across the Perth and Kinross patch took part in the business programme. The winning teams’ efforts were celebrated at the Festival of Philanthropy held in Perth Concert Hall.
Since it was launched by the Aberdeen-based Wood Foundation in 2008, the YPI programme has seen the number of Scottish schools involved grow from just 10 to nearly 200.
Over the years, more than £1.9million has been made for small local Scottish charities. In the last academic year alone, nearly £600,000 has been raised by students, with winning Perthshire teams securing £33,000.
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.”
He added: “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 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 are 1,000 youngsters at 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.”
Mr Wood added: “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.”
He said: “We’re very proud of the YPI programme and of the great team we have delivering it.”
Champion cyclist Mark Beaumont is a Philanthropy Ambassador for the Wood Foundation. In his keynote speech he spoke about his recent record-breaking solo journey across Africa.
Among the charities which benefited from the work off local schools included the St Johnstone Community Trust, the Cyrenians Anchor House, the Police Treatment Centre, Churches Action for the Homeless and the Bield at Blackruthven.
