Next month six-year-old Anthony Green will be travelling up and down Scotland to visit all 13 police divisions for charity.
Anthony has visited Divisional Headquarters in Fife on Detroit Road in Glenrothes every week since April 2022 to see police vehicles and personnel coming and going.
As a way to give something back to policing Anthony has decided to spend the month of July travelling to over 50 police stations, raising money for charity.
Officers across the country have got involved to help with the planning of these visits to ensure Anthony receives the warm welcome he’s used to from his hometown police.
Sergeant David McCabe said: “We are used to seeing Anthony accompanied by his parents in Glenrothes every week and it is fantastic to see the joy our vehicles and colleagues bring him by simply doing our job.
“His love of policing is evident in this challenge and we hope he enjoys seeing our colleagues across the country while on his travels.”
A Fife church that provided school children with tablets to help with online learning has received £1,500 prize money in a national competition.
The Good News church competition was launched by specialist insurer Ecclesiastical to shine a light on churches’ bright ideas and success stories, community heroes and ingenuity in the face of adversity.
St Luke the Evangelist Church in Auchmuty, Glenrothes was chosen as the regional winner for Scotland – earning themselves £1,500 to support the church’s work in the community.
The church, led by former teacher Father Gerry Dillon, provided computers and tablets to local pupils to take part in online learning during the UK-wide lockdown.
Father Gerry Dillon, Priest of St Luke the Evangelist, Glenrothes and St Finnian’s, Lochgelly, said: “We are delighted to win and very grateful to Ecclesiastical for the award which we’ll be putting towards our AV equipment.
“The AV system will widen access to our community space(s), and to the community groups and services working with people and within our community. It will also make it possible for us to partner with global projects and initiatives who can broaden individual and community horizons.
“This scheme not only helped us partner with the local school to support the learning of children through digital devices, but also to develop parents’ literacy, numeracy and digital skills – which has been an unexpected benefit of this initiative.
“Going forward St Luke’s will continue to be an additional space in the community that will be of use for the ongoing well-being of the whole community, as well as developing nurturing opportunities, especially with local schools and youth groups.”
St Luke’s will now join four other churches in the national final where they can win a further £6,000 as overall winner – bringing the total winnings to £7,500.
Helen Richards, church director at Ecclesiastical, said: “Congratulations to St Luke the Evangelist Church, our regional winner for Scotland. Their efforts to support local pupils who were without access to computers or devices needed for online learning during the pandemic really impressed our judging panel.
“Despite the challenges that the pandemic has brought with it, churches have remained a beacon of hope to the communities they are based in.
“That’s why this year’s theme for our church competition is ‘Good News’! We wanted to help shine a light on those unsung heroes in our communities and the new initiatives that churches have come up with to help those most in need – spreading the ‘Good News’ far and wide.”
Members of the public will be able to vote for their favourite shortlisted church to help decide the overall national winner, who will receive a further £6,000.
