Tag: Edinburgh City Mission

Three good cause groups win share of £25,000 Scotmid funding

Three good causes across the East of Scotland have been awarded a share of a £25,000 funding pot, thanks to Scotmid’s Community Connect awards scheme. The awards were decided by a vote of Scotmid Members.

LoveOliver secured £15,000 in funding, with Edinburgh City Mission and The School Bank West Lothian both receiving a £5,000 award. The charities were shortlisted by the community retailer to receive the lifeline financial support helping them to continue carrying out vital work within the communities that they operate.

Each organisation delivers a range of different services, aimed at supporting and enhancing the lives of others.

  • LoveOliver is a charity dedicated to childhood cancer research and provides practical support for families affected by the disease. The funding awarded by Scotmid will be used to hire a staff member for its drop-in café, which provides aid and support for families at a local and accessible level.
  • Edinburgh City Mission is a charitable organisation involved in a number of projects that support the most vulnerable in the Edinburgh community. The charity works to aid several foodbanks, a clothes bank and a family-focused weekend club aimed at supporting asylum seekers. The funding granted by Scotmid will be used to help support these projects and the people who benefit the most from them.
  • The School Bank West Lothian was established in 2015 and is dedicated to delivering school uniforms and other school essentials to families experiencing financial hardship. The funding provided by Scotmid will assist The School Bank West Lothian in ensuring every school child is prepared for their studies this winter.

Jennifer Gill, Charity Founder and Co-ordinator at LoveOliver, said: “We are delighted to receive £15,000 from Scotmid and want to thank everyone involved in making this happen.  Our drop-in cafe at The Howat Hub has been running two days each week by our volunteers since opening in February this year.

“This funding will be used to employ a member of staff to allow the cafe to double its opening hours and be more available to families. We’re extremely grateful for this opportunity to extend our team, and to continue our work funding childhood cancer research and providing practical support to families affected by it.”

Catriona Thomas, Fundraising Manager for Edinburgh City Mission, (above) said: “Edinburgh City Mission aims to support as many vulnerable people in the city as possible, so we’re thrilled to be granted with this crucial funding from Scotmid.

“The funding will go towards hosting Soul Food, a weekly sit-down meal service for those most in need, helping us to meet our goal of ensuring that everyone in the local community has access to food.”

Abbie Stephenson, Project Worker with The School Bank West Lothian, said: “The School Bank West Lothian is thrilled to receive £5,000. Vulnerable children shouldn’t be without the basic necessities for school, so our mission is to help provide school children with the clothing and equipment they need to succeed. We look forward to helping reach more children in need.”  

Since Scotmid’s Community Connect launched in 2017, almost £600,000 has been awarded to 66 good cause groups across the north of England and Scotland, enabling key projects to continue operating in their local areas.

Harry Cairney, President of Scotmid, said: “Community Connect is one of the core ways in which we are able to support the communities we serve.

“We’re proud to support local charities and good cause groups and provide dedicated funding to support their goals. As we enter the winter months, it is important to look after one another – we’re grateful for our chosen three charities and good causes’ continued efforts to provide a lifeline to those in need within local communities.”

Edinburgh shopper Ame scoops over £1200 for local foodbank at Aldi Supermarket Sweep

The winner of Aldi’s Supermarket Sweep in Edinburgh has raised £1,256.02 for a local foodbank while picking up over £600 in Aldi favourites for herself.  

Aldi’s popular Supermarket Sweep recently arrived in Edinburgh and lucky shopper Ame Robertson, who was chosen as the winner of an in-store competition, took part in the five-minute trolley dash for charity on Wednesday 22 June.  

As well as taking home a trolley full of goodies, Ame successfully found the hidden inflatable in store, meaning Aldi Scotland doubled the total value of her haul and donated the lump sum to her nominated charity, Edinburgh City Mission.  

Aldi Supermarket Sweep winner, Ame Robertson, said: “I was surprised to be drawn to take part in the sweep, as I’m not usually that lucky.

“The five minutes passed really quickly, but I am very pleased with what I was able to pick up and the amount that was donated to the food bank, especially in these challenging times.

“Thank you to Aldi again, I had the best time!” 

Duncan Cuthill, CEO, Edinburgh City Mission, said: “We are very pleased to have been chosen as the recipient for money raise through the Supermarket Sweep at Aldi Hermiston Gait. The cost-of-living crisis is a daily reality for all of us, but it is having the biggest impact of lower income families.  

“Our Foodbank+ network of seven foodbanks in and around Edinburgh has seen a big increase in the number of people who are in crisis and need short-term food support this year. 

“We are grateful to our volunteers who provide a warm welcome and friendship in each Foodbank+ and to our many donors who enable us to provide food and other household essentials.  Thank you once again to Aldi Hermiston Gait for the support.

 Richard Holloway, Regional Managing Director for Scotland, said: “We are proud that the Aldi Supermarket Sweep is a firm favourite across the country, and we are so pleased to bring it back this year.

“Congratulations to Ame who managed to raise an incredible £1,256.02 for Edinburgh City Mission and snap up a whole load of Aldi treats for herself.” 

Winners of the 2022 Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service announced

QAVS recognition for Edinburgh’s Care Van volunteers

  • Those who have provided community support and empowered others receive highest number of awards
  • Awardees include volunteers working in food banks, hospices and fundraising

The highest award given to local volunteer groups, The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, is being awarded to 244 organisations across the UK today in recognition of their outstanding community service.

Among them is Edinburgh’s Care Van volunteers, a project run by Edinburgh City Mission in partnership with Bethany Christian Trust and 40 local churches.

The van is an important source of care and support for people who are homeless and vulnerable in the capital.

Relying on volunteers, it goes out almost every day of the year providing soup, food, hot drinks, blankets and clothes, friendship, encouragement and advice to up to 60 people a night who are rough sleeping or housed in homeless B&B accommodation by Edinburgh Council.

Edinburgh City Mission co-ordinates rotas for over 40 teams that are drawn from local churches across the Lothians and includes over 750 volunteers.

Last year organisers celebrated 30 years since the Care Van first took to the streets of Edinburgh to provide food and comfort to people in need. Throughout Edinburgh’s Covid-19 lockdown, the evening and lunchtime teams have served over 20,000 meals.

Charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland receive the prestigious award for their volunteer-led work across a wide range of fields including mental health, youth, community, arts and heritage.

This year 204 organisations from England, 22 from Scotland, five from Wales and 13 from Northern Ireland will receive The Queen’s Award, highlighting the continued breadth and depth of voluntary service undertaken each and every day across the United Kingdom.

The awardees have all enhanced the lives of others through their work with the highest number of awards this year going to the community support sector, which includes food banks, village shops, fundraising events and men’s sheds.

Minister for Civil Society and Youth Nigel Huddleston said: “Our volunteers give up their time to help others and The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service recognises their selfless acts of generosity and kindness.

“I congratulate all the awardees whose hard work and dedication is rightly recognised in this milestone year of The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.”

Sir Martyn Lewis, QAVS Chair said: “I warmly congratulate all the outstanding voluntary groups who have been rewarded with a Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service this year.

“The level of commitment and innovation shown by these volunteers is truly impressive. We owe a debt of gratitude to them, and the countless others who give up their free time regularly to improve the lives of others in their community.”

Empowering others is also an area well represented in this year’s Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service with confidence building, training opportunities, educational support and sports all highly recognised. Volunteers working in hospices, cancer support, long-term illness, search and rescue and first aid also feature prominently.

Coinciding with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service recognises that volunteers continue to provide a vital social function and improve access to services across the country.

As well as This year’s recipients also include:

  • Knockmany Running Club in County Tyrone which utilises an unused forest to provide a space for all ages to run, walk and ramble through accessible trails.
  • Cymru Creations in Gwent is a team of professionals who give their time to run an award-winning film academy, helping young people to create their own films and develop skills.
  • Bright Minds Big Futures which is a youth led movement in Stockton-on-Tees providing social action opportunities for young people and working very positively with the council to make Stockton a better place to live.
  • The Buddy Bag Foundation is providing support bags to children arriving in refuges which include toiletries, pyjamas, socks and underwear, in addition to comfort items such as a book and a teddy bear. It creates and supplies over 10,000 each year which helps to restore a sense of safety to the children in the West Midlands.
  • 1st Buckie Company Boys’ Brigade is challenging young people from 6 to18 years old through physical and skills-based activities, community involvement and spiritual development in Banffshire.
  • The Oasis Centre which is creating communities in four parishes in Cornwall with multiple economic, health and well-being needs through food provision, social events and practical advice.

£0.5m Emergency Food Fund allocated across Scotland

Funding aimed at tackling food poverty has been allocated to 26 Scottish projects

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Deputy first minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced £518,000 of grants during a visit to Greater Maryhill Food Bank, which last week alone provided food to 131 individuals, feeding 52 different families.

Lead organisations Citizens Advice Edinburgh and Edinburgh City Mission will receive the bulk of Edinburgh’s allocation, with The Rock Trust and Bethany Christian Trust also receiving funding.

In April, the Scottish government announced £1m to support the work of food providers through the Emergency Food Fund, half of which has been allocated to the charity FareShare, which redistributes surplus food from retailers to charities supporting communities. The Emergency Food Fund (EFF) opened for applications in June, and today’s s announcement sees the remaining £518,000 distributed among 17 local authority areas.

EFF was established to support projects which respond to immediate demands for emergency food aid and help to address the underlying causes of food poverty, and grants have been allocated to projects that concentrate on preventing food crisis recurring, those that build connections between food aid providers, advice and support agencies and organisations working to promote healthy eating and reduce food waste.

The Trussell Trust charity said the number of people who used their food banks in Scotland between April last year and March this year rose to 71,428 – FIVE TIMES the number which used them during the previous financial year.

Ms Sturgeon said: “The amount of people experiencing food poverty in Scotland is simply not acceptable. Worryingly the Trussell Trust has seen a 400 per cent increase in people using food banks between April 2013 and March 2014 which includes more than 22,000 children using these services.

“Welfare reform, benefit delays, benefit sanctions and falling incomes are all having a detrimental impact on the people of Scotland.

“Today I visited Greater Maryhill Food Bank, which is one of 35 food aid providers operating in Glasgow. Working in partnership with other local agencies, our Emergency Food Fund will help food aid organisations, such as this one, combat food poverty.

“Most people recognise that the increase in food bank use is directly linked to welfare reform and benefit cuts, and this fund is another example of what we are doing to mitigate the harmful effects of Westminster’s welfare cuts. However, the impact is still being felt by the most vulnerable in our society.

“One million people in Scotland are now living in relative poverty after housing costs, including more than 200,000 children.

“What is even more worrying is that 70 per cent of the welfare cuts are still to come – Scotland will see its welfare budget reduced by over £6 billion by 2015/16. And some estimates suggest that up to 100,000 more children could be living in poverty by 2020 if we continue with Westminster policies.

“It is vital that we gain the full powers of independence in order to build a better Scotland – one that protects people from poverty and helps them fulfill their potential in work and life.”

foodbank