Businesses from across Edinburgh came together recently to play in the second annual Big Match, raising £20,000 for The Yard.
Celebrity chef Tom Kitchin and former Hibs star Darren Dods were among those in action at Ainslie Park as the business community rallied round to support the day.
“It’s been an incredible effort from everyone and the total of £20,000 is amazing,” said organiser Steve Currie, of Murray and Currie Property in the Capital.
“It was such a great day and I was delighted to reach our goal this year with all the money raised going to The Yard, which does such a fantastic job for young disabled people and their families.”
The Yard, which is based in the centre of Edinburgh with other locations in Dundee and Kirkcaldy, offers disabled youngsters and their families the chance to experience creative and adventurous indoor and outdoor play in a well-supported environment.
Chief executive Celine Sinclair, added: “On behalf of our entire team at The Yard, well done to everyone who took part in The Big Match and a huge thank you to Murray and Currie and everyone who donated.
“This donation is hugely appreciated and will go towards helping even more of the families, young people and children that we support.”
Thoughts have already turned to next year’s event, which will once again take place at Ainslie Park with a confirmed date of Friday, 7 March 2025.
The Morrisons Foundation has given us a grant of £10,000 to spend on outreach within Edinburgh schools.
This will help us expand our initiative of getting rails of brand new uniform into the schools that need it most around the city, giving children and young people instant access to important uniform items.
Our Operations Coordinator, Clare, popped into Morrisons to thank their Community Champion, Gillian.
Aldi is celebrating a significant milestone in its partnership with surplus food and household products redistributor, Company Shop Group.
In the past year, Britain’s fourth-largest supermarket has now donated an impressive 77,980 meals from its Regional Distribution Centre in Bathgate to people around Scotland, through Company Shop Group, saving an estimated 33 tonnes of food from going to waste.
Community Shop is an award-winning social enterprise that supports 9,000 members and their families in some of the UK’s most deprived communities, by offering access to discounted products and reinvesting the revenue raised into its Community Kitchens and Hubs.
In just one year, the partnership has supported over 2,800 people through its Community Hub development programmes, which provide individuals and communities with the tools they need to live well and the skills to get them back into work.
It has also enabled more than 2,100 people to attend cooking lessons at the Community Kitchen’s Cook Clubs, where they can learn how to prepare nutritious family meals on a budget.
Aldi’s support for Community Shop’s Christmas lunches last year also saw 1,800 members come together for its biggest-ever Christmas celebration, with ingredients for the festive three-course meals provided by the supermarket.
Liz Fox, National Sustainability Director at Aldi UK, said:“It’s incredible to look back at the results we’ve achieved from just one year with Company Shop Group – from saving tonnes of food from going to waste to supporting thousands of families in need.
“We are committed to making good quality food accessible to everyone. After all, it’s a right, not a privilege.
“We’re very excited to see what lies ahead for the partnership as we get closer to our new goal of reducing food waste in our own operations by 90% before 2030*.”
Gary Stott, Executive Chairman of Community Shop, added:“We are very proud of our partnership with Aldi and its commitment to helping prevent waste and support communities.
“The scheme has helped us deliver a significant social impact, whilst also allowing us to carry out vital work to save the planet from unnecessary waste.”
THREE Glasgow-based charities have received donations totalling £1,500 from the Amazon fulfilment centre in Dunfermline.
Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity, CHAS and Scot Baby Box Appeal have received £500 each following nominations for support from the team at Amazon in Dunfermline.
Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity supports those who care for and nurture young lives at their most vulnerable. The charity also invests in equipment, research and the continued improvement of facilities and services for children and families in hospital.
Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS) offers a full family support service for babies, children and young people with life-shortening conditions. Through their hospices, home care services and hospital presence, CHAS provides palliative care, family respite and support. The charity’s hub in Glasgow offers a range of fundraising events such as the Glasgow Lunch and Glasgow Kiltwalk.
Scot Baby Box Appeal, based in Glasgow and Lanarkshire, sends support in the form of pre-loved baby boxes, humanitarian aid and other essential items to those in need in Ukraine.
Jamie Strain, General Manager at Amazon in Dunfermline, said: “I am glad to make donations to these great charities across Glasgow.
“We are passionate supporters of their work in the community and are so pleased to be able to help in any small way.”
Lara MacDonald, Senior Corporate Partnerships Executive from CHAS, said: “We are very grateful to the Amazon team in Dunfermline for their support.
“Their donation is so appreciated here at CHAS. Thank you so much Jamie and the team for your continued support.”
Megan Wright, an employee from Amazon in Dunfermline, added: “All three of these charities provide invaluable services across Scotland and I’m so grateful that we can support them through donations like this.”
Community donations and employee volunteering are just two of the ways Amazon supports the communities where it operates.
Amazon co-founded the Multibank initiative with former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown to support families in poverty.
The first Multibank, ‘The Big Hoose’, opened in Fife providing surplus essentials like nappies, toilet rolls, toothpaste and school uniforms, donated by Amazon and others, directly to those in need.
The initiative has gone on to donate more than 2 million goods to over 200,000 families across Scotland and Greater Manchester.
Amazon also helps community organisations transport meals and other essentials to families in need through its pro bono logistics programme, Amazon Local Good, including more than seven million healthy breakfasts to children at risk of hunger in partnership with Magic Breakfast.
Amazon partners with Comic Relief to help people tackle poverty and is the official home of the charity’s iconic Red Nose.
Last year, together with its employees, customers, and partners, Amazon raised over £2.7 million to fund projects that support people struggling with the cost-of-living crisis and tackle issues such as homelessness, mental health problems, and food insecurity across the UK, and around the world.
In response to the ongoing challenges faced by communities across the country, NFU Mutual has announced £3.25m of funding for local and national charities during 2024.
The leading UK rural insurer is pledging this support to help tackle the ongoing effects of the pandemic and assist with the impact of the rising cost of living.
NFU Mutual will be donating £1.92m to local front-line charities through its Agency Giving Fund. First launched in 2020 in response to the pandemic, the insurer is keeping this annual fund going into 2024 to further help local charities and communities across the UK.
Once again, NFU Mutual Agency and branch offices, covering more than 280 locations nationwide, will be invited to nominate front-line charities to receive a share of the fund. This will ensure that donations reach all corners of the UK and are directed where they are needed most.
To support national and regional charities, NFU Mutual is pledging £1m to the NFU Mutual Charitable Trust.
The Trust is an independent charity the insurer set up in 1998 to support other charities and organisations working in the interests of agriculture, rural communities and the countryside. Since it was founded, the Trust has distributed donations totalling more than £8.6m and made a positive difference to education, research, social welfare and poverty relief.
Alongside this, NFU Mutual has also committed £30,000 to its Community Champions scheme, to support causes close to the heart of its people, by donating to staff fundraising events and initiatives.
The £3.25m funding is completed with a £300,000 donation to the Farm Safety Foundation (Yellow Wellies), an independent registered charity founded and funded by NFU Mutual.
As it celebrates its tenth anniversary, the 2024 support will help the Foundation to carry on delivering their education programme, award-winning campaigns, research and engagement throughout the UK, so they can continue raising awareness of, and addressing the attitudes and behaviours around, risk-taking and poor mental health in the industry.
Nick Turner, Group Chief Executive of NFU Mutual, said:“We’re proud to be maintaining significant levels of charitable giving in 2024. We recognise these are challenging times, and our initiatives will support national and local charities right across the UK who are delivering vital services to those in need.”
Millions of pounds recovered from firms by Ofgem have been used to help communities across the country in 2023.
Ofgem steps in when energy companies breach their licence conditions or are found to be failing customers.
In 2023, the regulator recovered a total of £77.2 million in fines, customer refunds, compensation and alternative action payments – up by £50.5 million compared to 2022’s total of £27.3 million. This includes £5 million worth of fines.
As well as fines and alternative action payments, Ofgem also made energy firms pay £13 million to customers in 2023 – over a million pounds a month – for poor service.
The vast majority of money recovered from energy companies this year – set to reach over £57 million – was paid into Ofgem’s Energy Redress Fund, which benefits charities and community projects that help vulnerable customers with energy-related support.
Cathryn Scott, Director for Enforcement and Emerging Issues at Ofgem, said:“Protecting customers and ensuring that they are treated fairly is at the heart of Ofgem’s mission.
“That’s why we make suppliers pay when they break the rules or fall short of the high standards we set – and when they do, it’s only right that customers should be the ones who benefit.
“Every year, the Energy Redress Fund makes a positive difference to the lives of customers across Great Britain, particularly people who are struggling and vulnerable, so to see the fund pass the £100 million mark is a significant milestone.
“This could not have happened without the thorough investigative work of our compliance and enforcement teams to identify licence breaches or poor behaviour by energy companies, or the Energy Saving Trust who ensure the money is targeted to reach those in need.”
Since it was set up in 2018, the fund, managed by the Energy Saving Trust, has received more than £137 million and handed out £102 million in grants to 538 projects across England, Wales and Scotland. A further £35 million in funding will be available to be distributed to new and existing projects, and a new round of grant applications is due to open in the new year.
The nature of support provided varies widely but includes:
£20 million in fuel vouchers issued to charities to identify and provide help to vulnerable customers at risk of disconnection from their energy supply
providing energy advice to more than 500,000 households and installing energy saving methods for more than 150,000 homes to help reduce bills
working to ensure that future home heating controls and new energy technologies work for everyone including people living with disabilities
This is in keeping with Ofgem’s mission to protect consumers from unfair costs and to drive up standards throughout the energy industry. The significant rise in fines reflects Ofgem’s proactive work to identify issues via a range of methods.
Among the 538 projects supported by the energy redress fund is the Warm Hubs centre in the coastal village of Seahouses, Northumberland.
Redress funding has helped to drive the development of this vital community resource, established by the Community Action Northumberland charity, and a lifeline service last winter at the height of the energy crisis.
Created as a response to tackling fuel poverty, Warm Hubs offer a safe, warm and friendly environment where people can get information, advice, access to services as well as refreshments and the company of other people.
Energy saving advice and guidance on home insulation is also provided by onsite Community Energy Agents to help people take positive action in their own homes to cut bills.
These Warm Hubs became an integral part of communities across Northumberland during Storm Arwen in November 2021, when widespread damage to the network left 4,000 homes without power for more than a week.
With emergency generators set up at the Warm Hubs, people had a place where they could come for a hot meal and a warm shower.
Christine Nicholls of Community Action Northumberland (CAN) said:“Without the support of Redress and Vulnerability and Carbon Monoxide Allowance (VCMA) funding we would not have been able to support the huge number of rural households through the recent energy crisis.
“We are very proud of our Warm Hub scheme.”
Laura McGadie, Head of Energy at Energy Saving Trust, said: “We are pleased to have managed the distribution of more than £100 million in much-needed funds from the Redress scheme to frontline charities and social enterprises since 2018.
“The projects funded by the scheme are helping customers in the most vulnerable situations through the cost of living crisis, but they also look to the future.
“Charities and social enterprises have a crucial role to play in ensuring no one is left behind as we transition to net zero and that we all have a voice and a role in the changes that are coming to our energy system.”
The housebuilder donated £188,000 to good causes across the Lothians and Fife in 2023, including those which help vulnerable children and mental and physical health support services
Barratt Developments – which includes Barratt Homes, David Wilson Homes and Oregon Timber Frame Ltd – is celebrating a year of giving after its charitable efforts topped more than £520,000 in donations across Scotland.
Each year, the five-star housebuilder supports a wide range of organisations promoting health, employability and care among many other causes.
This is done through various charity initiatives, including the Barratt Developments Scotland Community Fund, which donates £1,500 to a deserving local cause in each of its Scottish divisions every month.
Over the last 12 months, Barratt Developments has provided financial support to a diverse mix of charities throughout the Lothians and Fife – coming at a vital time when many families, individuals and organisations have been affected by rising costs.
In total, £188,000 has been donated to good causes in the Lothians and Fife.
Support was given to multiple charities, with a £157,940 donation given to St Columba’s Hospice Care, which provides specialist palliative care to people living with life-limiting illnesses.
Granton-based charity Empty Kitchens Full Hearts, which rescues surplus food to make meals for those in need, also received a funding boost of £10,000.
Other organisations which received funding from the housebuilder in 2023 included Kingdom Abuse Survivors Project, a Fife-based charity that provides support to survivors of childhood sexual abuse; Simpson Babies Special Care which helps to provide essential care for premature and sick newborn babies; Edinburgh Women’s Aid, which provides support and refuge to women and children affected by domestic abuse; and mental health charity Health in Mind.
Alison Condie, Barratt Developments’ Managing Director for East Scotland, said:“As the country’s leading housebuilder, we are committed to creating a positive legacy and making a genuine contribution towards the communities in which we build our homes.
“Our teams have raised a fantastic amount which has been donated to a variety of causes this year – touching the lives of countless individuals and families in need.
“The funds raised will be used to support a wide range of initiatives, including providing food and shelter to the homeless, offering opportunities to underprivileged and vulnerable young people, and providing vital healthcare and wellbeing support for those who are struggling.
“There is so much important work being undertaken by organisations up and down the country, and we look to continue supporting a diverse mix of causes in 2024. We would like to thank everyone who suggested charities and supported our fundraising activities this year.”
LifeCare Edinburgh brought members of the local community together to enjoy some early festive cheer this year at their annual charity Christmas lunches. Over 150 two course lunches were served across three days in the charity’s Community Café, CafeLife, by volunteers from aerospace engineering company Leonardo, who chose LifeCare as their charity partner last year.
Guests also enjoyed entertainment from local choir, The Cheyne Gang, a community singing group for people living with long term respiratory conditions such as COPD, Asthma and Bronchiectasis, as well as a Tombola and Christmas Quiz.
LifeCare CEO, Sarah Van Putten, said: “Our Christmas Lunches are a fantastic way of bringing people together in support of a good cause.
“All the money we raise from our lunches and other Christmas activities go directly towards our Winter Warmer Appeal which we launched back in November, due to unprecedented demand for our services through the cost-of-living crisis.
“These funds will enable us to continue to provide vital support to local older people and unpaid carers during the difficult winter months. A huge thank you to all those who came along, including our wonderful volunteers and of course our fabulous choir. Your support funds ours, and it really does make a huge difference.”
LifeCare Edinburgh is a local charity with a proud 80-year-history of providing uplifting, positive and practical support for older people.
Their vision is of a society where no older person is alone or isolated, and their professional and high-quality support is delivered to the most vulnerable members of the community – including those living with dementia and unpaid (often older themselves) carers – within the home and out and about.
The LifeCare Christmas lunches have become a key date in the diary for many Stockbridge locals, with the 2023 events the second to take place since the covid-19 pandemic.
Royal Bank of Scotland joined forces with Social Bite to host a Christmas dinner for people who’ve experienced homelessness. The dinner took place in the bank’s boardroom at St Andrew’s Square in Edinburgh.
Royal Bank is a long-term supporter of the work Social Bite is doing to end homelessness. Since 2016 Royal Bank has supported Social Bite through donations, gifts-in-kind, and strategic help totalling over £1million. Royal Bank employees have raised more than £100,000 through sponsored sleepouts, abseils and Christmas appeals.
Taking place on 19 December 2023, those attending included residents and staff from Social Bite’s Village in Edinburgh, run in partnership with Cyrenians to provide a supported community which helps people affected by homelessness to lead an independent life.
Social Bite plans to open two new Villages in South Lanarkshire and Dundee over the next two years.
Judith Cruickshank, Chair of the Royal Bank of Scotland Board commented on the collaboration, stating: “Building on our long-term support for Social Bite we are helping to make Christmas a little more enjoyable for some of the most vulnerable.”
Sara Rees, Director at Social Bite, said: “We are so grateful for Royal Bank of Scotland’s support. They have played a key part in a number of transformational projects helping people break the cycle of homelessness, and it is really special that they have created this Christmas experience for the residents of the Village.”
Scotland’s leading independent all-boys boarding school, Merchiston Castle School, has raised £1,500 and a whopping 492kg of food donations for the Edinburgh Food Project, a local charity that provides emergency good provision and support for people in need.
Following the charity’s ‘most wanted’ list, the schoolboys encouraged their families and friends to donate and drop off at Merchiston’s annual Christmas Fair, and the community responded generously! From tinned soup to cereal, cleaning products to festive treats, families contributed almost half a tonne of much-needed items to go directly to vulnerable people in Edinburgh this winter.
A further £1,500 cash donation was raised through a remarkable charity raffle held on the day, stallholder fees and a sizeable contribution from the Sixth Form’s Christmas market sales, which saw students from the Entrepreneurship BTEC sell Merchiston branded mugs, candles, and ornaments aplenty!
Edinburgh Food Project is seeing an increased demand for foodbanks this year, with over 2,000 food parcels expected to be delivered in December alone – a 70% rise compared with the same month in 2022.
The donation raised by Merchiston Castle School will go some way in helping to meet this demand and support the seven food banks run by the organisation.
Jonathan Anderson, Headteacher of Merchiston Castle School, said:“We are immensely grateful to our kind-spirited community who donated much-needed items to our charity initiative this year. It has been heart-warming to see the local community come together to support families in need and spread some true Christmas cheer.
“The boys have been incredible in supporting the fundraising activity, hosting the raffle where all donations went directly to the Edinburgh Food Project. We are very proud to see them giving back to the community and thinking of others less fortunate at this time of year”.
