Tag: politicians

MoonWalk’s Psychedelic Extravaganza this Saturday

The streets of Edinburgh will be transported back to the Swinging Sixties this Saturday night!  After months of training, thousands of women and men wearing brightly decorated psychedelic bras will Power Walk through the streets of the capital at midnight …

Organised by grant-making breast cancer charity Walk the Walk, The MoonWalk has raised in excess of £15.5 million since 2006, with most of the money being granted in Scotland, to help improve the lives of people with cancer.

This year’s theme is “Psychedelic Extravaganza”, where anything groovy goes, as long as it’s bright and bold – a Magical Mystery Tour from the Swinging Sixties, full of Flower Power!

The walkers will start their amazing challenges from Walk the Walk’s huge Pink Tent at its new venue of Leith Links. Uniting against breast cancer, many iconic buildings across the city will be lit pink on the night, giving the walkers a huge collective hug. Amongst others, Edinburgh Castle, The Royal Yacht Britannia and Lloyds on The Mound will all be basking in a pink glow!

The charity’s fantastic walkers will be taking on two new Power Walking challenges this year. Anyone aged ten and over can do the quarter marathon New Moon (6.55 miles). For those seeking an extreme challenge, Walk the Walk has introduced the double marathon Over the Moon (52.4 miles). The famous Half Moon (13.1 miles) and Full Moon (26.2 miles) challenges are both still available.

STV Entertainment correspondent Laura Boyd will be taking on the Full Moon – Laura was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2009  and uses Maggie’s Cancer Care Centre at Gartnavel Hospital in Glasgow, which is funded by Walk the Walk. Also walking are singer/songwriter Carrie Mac, as well as the editor of Good Housekeeping Magazine Lindsay Nicholson, on the second leg of her 3 Land Challenge, which also includes MoonWalks in London and Iceland.

Five MSP’s have signed up for The New Moon – Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton), Sarah Boyack (Lothian), Siobhan McMahon (Central Scotland), Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) and Drew Smith (Glasgow).

Entries for all the walking challenges are now closed, but Walk the Walk still wants more volunteers to sign up – a thousand are needed to help the event run smoothly.

There’s a variety of roles available, including route marshall, cycle marshall, water crew, clean and recycle team, and directional team (helping direct walkers, and other jobs on The MoonWalk City site).

To sign up as a volunteer for The MoonWalk Edinburgh Scotland please click here

MP visits Prince’s Trust

PrincesTrust1

MP for Edinburgh East Sheila Gilmore visited The Prince’s Trust Centre on Ferry Road last Friday to meet young people and discuss the impact of youth unemployment.

The meeting provided an opportunity for the MP to meet a group of under-16’s participating on The Trust’s Fairbridge programme, which focuses on developing key employability skills, as well as participating in a round-table discussion with Prince’s Trust Job Ambassadors who provided an in-depth insight into the challenges they faced whilst unemployed.

The effect unemployment has on young people is significant, according to recent research by The Prince’s Trust. The Youth Index, which gauges young people’s wellbeing across a range of areas from family life to physical health, found that around 33% of those surveyed claimed to feel down or depressed ‘always’ or ‘often’, and that one in five unemployed young people across the UK believe their confidence would never recover from their spell out of work.

Ms Gilmore also got an insight into the range of programmes offered by The Prince’s Trust as a means of engaging with unemployed young people or those struggling at school and at a risk of exclusion.
Sheila Gilmore MP said: “We know that periods of unemployment at a young age can have an adverse impact on people for the rest of their lives. The work that The Prince’s Trust does with young people to help them build up their skills and confidence is crucial in preventing this.”

Speaking after the MP’s visit, Heather Gray, Director of The Prince’s Trust, Scotland, said: “We were delighted to welcome Sheila Gilmore to our Edinburgh Centre. It provided a positive opportunity for Ms Gilmore to meet with young people and hear about the challenges they face in finding employment as well as to discuss what can be done to help young people into employment and training and towards a positive future.”

Heather Johnston, a Job Ambassador for The Prince’s Trust Scotland, was one of the young people who met the MP. She said: “I was unemployed for five years – it is demoralising and can impact heavily on self-esteem. As a Job Ambassador for The Prince’s Trust, it is important we get as much support to ensure young people, like me, get an opportunity to achieve a positive future.”

PrincesTrust2