An initiative which enables young people to speak up for local charities they believe in was celebrated in Perth yesterday.
In the past six years nearly £1 million has been donated to grassroots charities through the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI).
Yesterday, secondary school pupils involved with the scheme were joined at Perth Concert Hall by 2014 Adventurer of the Year Sean Conway, chart-topping singer-songwriter Nina Nesbitt and chairman of the Wood Family Trust (WFT) Sir Ian Wood.
The day-long event recognised the philanthropic success and engagement of almost 15,000 Scottish secondary pupils, who have been responsible for directing £324,000 this academic year to charities they feel passionately about.
The YPI is a programme managed and delivered in secondary schools across Scotland by the WFT, an Aberdeen-based charitable foundation established by Sir Ian Wood and his family in 2007.
Originally a Canadian programme, YPI was introduced in Scotland by the WFT in 2008 and has since involved more than 30,000 pupils nationally.
The programme encourages young people to think about social issues and build strong relationships with charities.
Having been guided on how to analyse the charity’s management and strategy, they then exercise their skills in advocacy and public speaking to make a case as to why their proposed charities should be awarded £3,000.
Winning teams from the last academic year and charity representatives were among those at the concert hall.
In Scotland, YPI is now in its sixth year of delivery and, to date, has donated £948,000 to grassroots charities across the country, with an additional spend of £572,000 on the supporting framework.
The programme has now been praised in HMIE (Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education) reports, for enriching school life.
Sir Ian Wood said of the scheme: “The development of YPI in Scotland is something we are very proud of.
“As it expands, the positive attitudes and enthusiasm from the young people continue to grow, resulting in a more involved relationship between the pupils, the charities and their communities.
“YPI has a proven impact on personal, enterprise, employability and citizenship skills, and there are very encouraging signs that the young people involved finish up much more aware of the impact they can make.
“One of my hopes is that this young generation will be a lot more caring and tolerant than, certainly, my generation, and the introduction of philanthropy into their young lives is making them more aware.
“There are clear signs of the opportunities to help the more vulnerable in our society.”