Tag: Firrhill High School

Tesco shopper selects Firrhill High School to receive a £5,000 donation

Firrhill High School is celebrating after being selected by a Tesco customer to receive a £5,000 donation.

On Saturday 21st September, Tesco customers in Edinburgh were given the chance to take part in a lucky dip to find a specially created gold version of Tesco’s famous blue voting token.

Firrhill High School was one of three local charities that customers could vote for to receive the £5,000 Golden Grant as part of Tesco’s Stronger Starts scheme.

Alexa Brown, Pupil Support Officer at Firrhill High School, said: “£5000 will make an enormous difference to us – it will mean security for the Breakfast Club and the ability to continue providing a healthy and nutritious breakfast to ensure the best start to the day for all our pupils.”

Over one hundred Tesco stores across the country took part in the Golden Grants event, with £500,000 in total being donated to good causes that help children and young people.

Golden Grants are awarded twice a year as part of Tesco’s £8 million Stronger Starts grant programme, in partnership with the charity Groundwork UK.

Stronger Starts grants help schools and children’s groups provide nutritious food and healthy activities that support young people’s physical health and mental wellbeing, such as breakfast clubs or snacks, as well as purchasing equipment for healthy activities.

Claire De Silva, Tesco Head of Communities said: “We know that £5,000 can make a huge difference to a school or community project, so we are incredibly proud to have been able to award Golden Grants to over one hundred schools and local projects to support the vital work they do for our children and communities.

“Our Stronger Starts programme continues to support our local communities year-round, and we encourage all customers to get involved by using a blue token to vote for a local project they feel will benefit people in their community.”

Since Tesco launched its Community Grants programme in 2016, more than £120 million has been given to more than 67,000 local schools and community groups.

Aspiring footballers score donation from Amazon in Edinburgh

The Amazon Edinburgh team has collaborated with David Pollacchi, Managing Director of Lomax Sports to support Firrhill High School and the Kevin Thomson Academy with donations of over £3,000 worth of equipment.

The football coaching kits include embroidered sportswear, footballs and cones. The academy will use the equipment as part of a partnership with Firrhill High School, a secondary school based in south- west Edinburgh, which has received two sets of 11 aside school football kits as part of the donations. 

The Kevin Thomson Academy (KTA) offers football coaching across the city through classes, private and team sessions. The Academy is run Kevin Thomson, a former Scottish professional footballer who played for clubs including Hibs, Middlesborough and Rangers.

David Pollacchi has a proven track record of making a tangible difference within communities in Edinburgh and has been formally recognised by Sportscotland, Scottish Football Association and the City of Edinburgh for driving sporting initiatives to improve the mental and physical wellbeing of children within the city.

To mark the donation, members of the Amazon team and the Kevin Thomson Academy visited staff and pupils from Firrhill High School to donate the items.

Ethan Smith from Amazon in Edinburgh said: “As an avid football fan, I’m so pleased Amazon has supported Firrhill High School and the Kevin Thomson Academy with these donations.

“It was a pleasure meeting pupils and members of the school and academy, and I hope this donation makes a lasting impact.”

Kevin Thomson added: “We want to express our thanks to Ethan and the team at Amazon in Edinburgh for this donation.

“Football is our passion and with donations like this, we can continue to support young people across the city in developing their skills and keeping fit. Huge thanks to David Pollacchi for managing and facilitating the whole process end to end over a number of months.

” We look forward to our training with Firrhill High School.” 

Graham Hamilton, Headteacher at Firrhill High School, said: “Thank you to David Pollacchi and Kevin Thomson, generously supported by Amazon in Edinburgh, for this donation of equipment, which means so much to our pupils.

“It was great to meet David, Kevin and the team from Amazon and we look forward to the sessions run by the Kevin Thomson Academy and to many victories in these new strips.”

Community donations and employee volunteering are just two of the ways Amazon supports the communities where it operates.

Amazon co-founded The Big House Multibank in Fife with former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown to support to families in need. The Multibank network has now donated more than 4 million surplus goods to over 400,000 families across Scotland, Wales, Greater Manchester, and London.

Amazon has supported more than 700,000 students across the UK with free STEM education programmes through Amazon Future Engineer and helps community organisations transport meals and other essentials to families in need through its pro bono logistics programme, Amazon Local Good.

Amazon partners with Comic Relief and is the official home of the charity’s iconic Red Nose. Together with its employees, customers, and partners, Amazon has raised over £4.8 million to fund projects that support people across the UK, and around the world.