Two Edinburgh based charities – along with a third good cause group in Fife – have been shortlisted to receive a share of a £25,000 funding pot, thanks to Scotmid’s Community Connect award scheme.
The awards will be announced this October, following a vote by Scotmid Members.
Edinburgh Young Carers is a voluntary organisation that provides respite and support to young people between the ages of five and 25 who care for somebody at home. It aims to improve the lives and wellbeing of young carers by raising awareness of the challenges they face and by offering emotional and practical support.
The Junction works with young people aged 12-21 across Leith and the North East of Edinburgh, offering access to a wide range of health-related services, education and information by providing a safe and welcoming environment. The charity encourages social and economic inclusion and promotes long term health and wellbeing.
Margaret Murphy, Chief Executive at Edinburgh Young Carers, said: “We are thrilled to be shortlisted for a Scotmid Community Connect Award.
“Young carers in Edinburgh face several challenges looking after loved ones and this funding will offer new opportunities they wouldn’t have otherwise. We are pleased to provide young carers in Edinburgh with a much-needed break from their caring responsibilities as well as a chance to build their confidence and learn new skills.”
The other good cause shortlisted in the East of Scotland is Fairway Fife.
Keen to support local good causes? Pop into your local Scotmid and pay £1 to become a member.
· 36 charities will each receive a £3,000 donation
· The charities are part of Nando’s ‘No Chuckin’ Our Chicken’ initiative, established ten years ago to help feed communities in need
Nando’s will donate £108,000 to 36 charities across Scotland and Wales to support relieving food poverty in the communities in which its restaurants operate.
Each charity, as members of the Nando’s ‘No Chuckin’ Our Chicken’ initiative, will receive a total of £3,000. The initiative was established in 2013 to help local charities feed communities in need while reducing food waste – with each Nando’s restaurant selecting their own charity partner.
The donations have been funded by the mandatory 10p and 5p charges for single-use paper carrier bags in Scotland and Wales respectively. Nando’s has collected these charges in line with regulations since 2015 and is committed to continuing to donate proceeds to its local charity partners.
Richard Craft, Nando’s UK Community lead, said: “We know that the start of the year can be a particularly challenging time for local charities as everyone looks to cut back on their spending.
“That’s why we’ve committed to making these donations to our charity partners in Scotland and Wales. We hope these donations, on top of our food donation programme, will help our fantastic partners to continue their work in feeding those who need it most.”
Nando’s No Chuckin’ Our Chicken scheme sees any cooked chicken that hasn’t been sold temperature checked, frozen and delivered to each restaurant’s charity partner at the end of every night. To date, Nando’s has provided the equivalent of over 3 million meals to more than 500 UK charities. Nando’s works in partnership with the UK’s largest food redistribution charity FareShare to run the programme.
Lindsay Boswell, Chief Executive at FareShare, said: “The cost of living crisis is having a disproportionate impact on those already struggling to make ends meet, and our charities are finding it increasingly hard to meet the skyrocketing demand from those in need.
“The support from Nando’s and its No Chuckin’ Our Chicken scheme continues to be invaluable in aiding national donations and helping FareShare continue delivering much needed food this winter.”
Charity recipients will be able to use the £3,000 donation as they wish, and some plan to invest in projects including upgrading their kitchens; enhancing their pantries and supporting people with recipes; alongside upskilling their volunteers to enhance their service.
Hundreds of vulnerable people will benefit from free Chromebooks, donated by Tesco Bank to local charities across Glasgow, Edinburgh and Newcastle.
Around 400 refurbished Chromebooks will be given to charities which support vulnerable groups including refugees, low-income households and school pupils. Recipients include Tesco Bank’s recently announced charity partner, The Trussell Trust.
One of the other charities to benefit from the donated equipment is Dnipro Kids in Edinburgh , a charity which is supporting children who have arrived in the UK from an orphanage in Dnipro, Ukraine.
40 Chromebooks have been donated to give the children the opportunity to get back on track with schoolwork, and for them and their orphanage mothers to learn English and keep in touch with friends back home.
Earlier this year Tesco Bank announced The Trussell Trust as one of two new charity partners. The Trussell Trust, which is campaigning for change to end the need for food banks in the UK, has accepted a donation of 20 Chromebooks. These will support the Trussell Trust’s work to build relationships with people experiencing financial hardship.
Lynne Rennie-Smith, Director of Colleague Experience at Tesco Bank, said; “Tesco Bank has a proud record of supporting the communities in which we operate.
“I’m delighted we’re donating these Chromebooks to local charities who tell us they will help vulnerable groups to build confidence, learn new skills, and stay connected.”
Jade Lewsey, Corporate Partnerships Manager, at Trussell Trust, said; “The Trussell Trust Participation team builds relationships with people experiencing financial hardship, and works with them as partners in our movement to end the need for food banks. Our work includes people from lots of different backgrounds, ages and locations.
“Some members use mobile phones to attend meetings and read business materials, as they don’t have access to, or cannot afford other tech. The Chromebooks donated by Tesco Bank will help create a better experience and reduce connectivity barriers for our partners and support their work across a number of different Trussell Trust programmes.”
Other organisations to receive donations include Glasgow Ukrainian Hub, Shawlands Academy in Glasgow and Spring Gardens Primary in Newcastle. Each of the charities to receive a donation of Chromebooks was suggested by Tesco Bank colleagues. Additional charities will be selected shortly.
As well as supporting local charities including partner charities Maggie’s and the Trussell Trust, Tesco Bank is proud to utilise its ATM network to support a number of national causes including the NSPCC, The British Heart Foundation and the Disasters Emergency Committee.
Tesco Bank has offered customers the opportunity to make charitable donations of up to £300 through its ATMs since 2012, raising over £750,000 for good causes.
Residents in Danderhall have welcomed a donation from leading housebuilder, Stewart Milne Homes, which has been used to enhance the area with the creation of allotment space, flowering gardens and wildlife habitats.
The £1,000 funding for Danderhall Primary School has been used to support community-wide initiatives, implemented in partnership with local gardening club, Danderhall & District Guerrilla Gardeners.
The group, which has already made a range of outdoor community improvements over the last year, is currently working with the school to take groups of pupils outdoors each week in a bid to encourage them to get green fingered and engage them in protecting nature and the environment.
This month primary five pupils are planting a variety of fruit trees and making bespoke planters from recyclable pallet wood in a nearby allotment space that was previously unused land before the gardening team began the transformation.
The work undertaken by the group and pupils is helping to revive the space whilst encouraging children to enjoy the outdoors and adopt healthy lifestyle choices.
The Stewart Milne Homes funding has been used to purchase starter gardening packs for pupils including gardening gloves, trowels and forks, pots, hyacinth bulbs and compost, craft materials and litter grabbers
It has also gone towards the purchase of wildlife habitats including hedgehog homes and bird boxes which have been installed across the village.
As well as the funding, Stewart Milne Homes also provided hi-vis jackets for the school children to wear when they are out and about in the village, helping to keep them safe.
As Stewart Milne Homes progresses the development of its new Shawfair community, a collection of three, four, five and six bedroom homes nestled on the edge of The Wisp and the village of Danderhall that will create 115 homes for the growing neighbourhood, the housebuilder plans to continue to support the school and work with local community groups on a range of different initiatives.
Kevin Moreland, Marketing Manager at Stewart Milne Homes, said: “The level of work undertaken across Danderhall by the Guerrilla Gardeners and youngsters is fantastic, and it is clearly creating a positive impact for the multigenerational local community.
“Stewart Milne Homes is committed to supporting the communities where we build in and we are very proud to support the school with funding to enable a range of outdoor initiatives, which are integral to creating thriving neighbourhoods.
“It was great to get out and meet some of the keen gardeners to see first-hand the change they’re making which will complement our nearby Shawfair development which has been built with a people-first approach, with active travel links connecting the site to the wider village.”
David Halliday, Principal Teacher at Danderhall Primary School, said: “Encouraging and capitalising on the opportunity to experience learning and new challenges in the outdoor environment is integral to our curriculum, and the funding from Stewart Milne Homes is a brilliant boost to the opportunities that we can offer our pupils.
“The hi-vis vests will be used year-round as we encourage our pupils to get out of the classroom and allow themselves to experience new hobbies, such as gardening, as much as possible.
“We are looking forward to continuing our partnership with the Danderhall & District Guerrilla Gardeners as it is now a weekly highlight for the pupils who have developed a love for gardening and creating new areas in the village that they can be proud of. It really is a great example of a community coming together to create a force for good.”
Helen Graham, member of Danderhall & District Guerrilla Gardeners, said: “It has been a pleasure to meet local youngsters and encourage them to get outdoors to learn more about the garden, plants and wildlife.
“The Guerrillas have been busy working across Danderhall and surrounding villages to enhance the area with bright plants and foliage, and in turn it has brought together a number of likeminded individuals and created friendships and social opportunities, which is an added bonus.
“We have big plans to continue the revival of the village and we invite anyone in the local area with a passion for gardening or the outdoors to get involved as we work together to create a vibrant and inclusive neighbourhood.”
Morrisons Community Champions will be spending over 25,000 hours supporting local communities in run up to Christmas
Morrisons is committing over 25,000 Community Champion hours to spreading kindness this Christmas within local communities up and down the UK.
Across 12 days, our team of over 500 Community Champions – who support charities and community groups in their local community – will carry out thousands of acts of kindness. This will include donating gifts to key workers, giving away flowers and mistletoe, making donations to local food banks and surprising customers with gestures of kindness.
Other acts of kindness will be:
Gifting hampers to local heroes who have played a big part in supporting their local community
Donating gifts to families in need of support
Handing out ‘Be kind to yourself’ pamper packs to customers
Delivering gifts for local food bank volunteers
Surprising customers in our café and paying for their meal
Taking carrots to nurseries for children to leave out for Rudolph
Donating decorations to local refuge centres and volunteering to help decorate
Spending time helping prepare food at local community kitchens
Since the start of the Covid-19 global pandemic, we have donated more than £12 million of products to local food banks and community groups and raised almost £6 million for charity partners.
Rebecca Singleton, Community Director at Morrisons, said: “After seeing how much hope and joy was spread last Christmas, we knew we had to bring back our 12 Days of Kindness again this year.
“I am incredibly proud of our Community Champions who go above and beyond every day for those in need. Doing the right thing for our customers and the communities we serve has never been more important, so these 25,000 hours are dedicated to spreading festive cheer – and making good things happen for everyone this Christmas.”
Throughout December, we will also be giving away over a quarter of a million free Christmas cards for children to spread messages of hope.
Our Community Champions will be working in partnership with local groups and primary schools to deliver the cards for children to write messages on and colour in.
The children can post their cards to grandparents, neighbours and friends who they may not have seen recently due to the pandemic, or give them back to us to distribute to care homes and customers using our Doorstep Delivery service.
This activity is expected to impact tens of thousands of people living throughout the UK and follows our mission to help tackle loneliness within communities this festive period.
Morrisons is giving customers a new way to help those in need during the festive period by installing a Christmas ‘Giving Tree’ in all its stores, where customers can pick up a bauble worth £1, £2 or £5 to donate to a local food bank or community group nominated by their store.
From today, all 498 Morrisons stores will be putting up their tree with the aim of raising over half a million pounds for a variety of food banks and local communities throughout November and December, which is traditionally the most difficult time for many people.
Customers looking to donate can pick a bauble and take it to the checkouts along with their shopping. Each bauble has a barcode on the back for the checkout colleague to scan, and add £1, £2 or £5 to the customer’s bill.
Since the start of the pandemic, Morrisons has worked closely with food banks and communities across the UK and donated more than £12 million pounds to groups across the UK to ensure no one is left behind.
Morrisons will also continue offering their popular food bank ‘Pick Up Packs’ in stores throughout the festive period as well as bringing back its Gift Donation Stations where customers can donate new gifts. Donated items are passed on to local good causes and charities in the local community.
Rebecca Singleton, Community Director at Morrisons, said:“Christmas can be a challenging time and food banks are a lifeline for many people in the UK. We want to make it easier for our customers to donate in whatever way they can to help those in their local community get the items they need.
“The Giving Tree will give customers a unique and festive way to support local food banks and community groups.”
The Giving Tree initiative is part of Morrisons drive to stock Britain’s food banks and continue feeding the nation and will feature in all 498 Morrisons stores until the 24th December.
ALDI – GLASCOTE TAMWORTH FOOD DONATION – TAMWORTH HEART CHARITY
Pictures by Adam Fradgley
Pictured:
Lisa Richards (Aldi) and Simon Peaple (Tamworth Heart) with the trolley of donated items at the Tamworth store
Local charities across Edinburgh and the Lothians helped Aldi donate 22,752 meals to people in need over the summer school holidays.
The supermarket paired up its stores with local charities, community groups and foodbanks to donate surplus food, with the majority of meals going to causes supporting families and children.
The donation is part of Aldi’s commitment to donate 10 million meals across the country in 2021, in partnership with community giving platform Neighbourly.
Mary Dunn, Managing Director of Corporate Responsibility at Aldi UK, said: “We were proud to support so many incredible causes across Edinburgh and the Lothians this summer, helping them to donate meals to those in need.
“The school holidays can be a hard time for families, particularly when many are experiencing heightened financial hardship due to the pandemic, and this is why we committed to donating more meals than ever before.”
Steve Butterworth, from Neighbourly, added: “The summer school holidays are always one of the busiest times for the nation’s charities and food banks, but this year things were even busier. Aldi’s donations have never been more of a vital support to these organisations.”
Aldi stores across the country work with Neighbourly to partner with local charities, who can collect surplus food and perishable products, such as fruit, vegetables and baked goods, up to seven days a week.
