‘a hand up, not a hand out’
Edinburgh’s Young Carers project has received £2,000 from the STV Children’s Appeal.
The charity supports over 250 young carers every year, helping them maintain a balance between their responsibilities as a carer and their need for time and space for their own development throughout childhood and adolescence.
The donation from the STV Children’s Appeal will be used to support young carers aged 9 -13 years. Carers in this age group experience one of the highest burdens of caring and require specific support in order to meet the challenges they face, including moving from primary to secondary school and preparing for their first exams. One of the most significant and lasting impacts on young carers is poor educational attainment. Edinburgh’s Young Carers works with schools to raise awareness of the challenges faced by young carers and to help teachers identify and support young carers so that they are able to maintain their education.
Margaret Murphy, CEO of Edinburgh’s Young Carers, said: “Young carers may live in poorer families, have poorer physical and mental health and leave school with poor exam results compared with their peers. Being a young carer can benefit young people in a number of ways, including developing their maturity, life skills and independence. However, without access to appropriate support young carers can be very vulnerable and at risk of many challenges that can damage their development and long term life chances.”
Jack (13), an Edinburgh Young Carer, said: “I dreaded going to school as I found it hard. I just wanted to fall asleep in class and couldn’t concentrate as I was always worrying whether mum would be okay. Karen from EYCP met my teacher and I get extra help with my school work and I can phone home at break time. I feel a lot better about going to school and I am getting better marks – B instead of D!”
Since launch in 2011, the STV Children’s Appeal has raised over £11.1 million with 424 big and small grants distributed to projects across all 32 local authority areas in Scotland, providing much needed support to over 59,000 children. The money raised is distributed to provide practical help like food and warm clothes; create opportunities for training and employability; and enable social and emotional support for those who need it most.
Rob Woodward, STV CEO and trustee of the STV Children’s Appeal, said: “All the money donated to the STV Children’s Appeal remains in Scotland and will help bring about positive changes to the lives of vulnerable children and young people on our doorstep. With the help of the extraordinary fundraising efforts taking place in communities across the country we are able to support projects like Edinburgh’s Young Carers that help improve the lives of children in Scotland. We are extremely grateful to everyone who supports the STV Children’s Appeal.”
Sir Tom Hunter, trustee of the STV Children’s Appeal, said: “Through the Appeal our singular ambition is to deliver sustainable solutions to end child poverty. It is simply unacceptable in modern Scotland to still have young people debilitated by poverty through no fault of their own. Thanks to this project and many more, the people of Scotland are doing their level best to combat poverty.
“This is about communities coming together and, with a hand up not a hand out, from the STV Appeal, helping themselves deliver sustainable solutions to end child poverty.”
Sir Ian Wood, trustee of the STV Children’s Appeal, said: “The generosity of the people in Scotland who provide such great support to the STV Children’s Appeal is always incredibly encouraging and heart-warming. It is deeply concerning that there continues to be a significant requirement across Scotland for this financial support.
However, I do believe that the £2.9million raised this year will make a significant contribution to eradicating the issue of child poverty in Scotland. Throughout my working life I travelled a lot seeing an obvious divide between the haves and the have-nots around the world, and to know that this is also happening on our doorstep is deeply concerning. Everyone has a role to play in reducing the alarming child poverty statistics.”
If you’re an individual or group that would like to get involved with the STV Children’s Appeal and help raise funds for children and young people affected by poverty in Scotland, please get in touch with Natalie Wright at natalie.wright@stv.tv.
