Sainsburys Blackhall charity partner: the voting’s open!

lcp final cheque

Sainsburys Blackhall have just come to the end of their yearlong “Local Charity of the Year Partnership” with Muirhouse Youth Development Group.

Colleagues and customers at our Blackhall store helped to fundraise £7,050 for this good cause and would like to wish MYDG very good luck for the future.

Pictured above: Murray Dunnett, Dean Shanks, Amy Patterson and Chris Thomson. Murray and Amy have also been working with MYDG and MYadventure on the Bothy at Towford.

gail voting

It is now time for Sainsburys Blackhall to decide on their next Local charity Partner of the year, and voting is now open for colleagues and customers to decide who they would like to help this year.

The three shortlisted  nominations are:

Stroke Association Scotland

Pilton Youth and Children’s Project (PYCP)

Meningitis Research Foundation

Customers can vote in store at the customer service desk or on line at www.sainsburyslocalcharity.co.uk  until 28 June.

Gail, Sainsbury’s

 

PY’s ‘Giggers’ vote to focus on animals – and unicorn protection!

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To coincide with the Scottish Independence Referendum in September, Pilton Youth & Children Project’s ‘Get Involved Group’ (GIG) undertook a ‘Democracy Project’ over several months.

The young people explored all the arguments about both sides of the independence debate and also found out about the roots of British democracy -did you know that only very rich people and only men used to get the vote?

The project ended with two performances of a play staged by the young people.
There were sketches about the working class people and suffragettes who fought and died for their right to vote and a sketch about a fictitious family in Pilton, whose kids eventually persuaded their parents to miss ‘Storage wars’ to go and cast their vote!

The young people performed brilliantly and all their weeks of hard work were well worth it as the audience gave them a standing ovation. Well done to the ‘Giggers’!

ootFollowing on from the GIG project about democracy, the young people in the ‘Get Involved Group’ went through a democratic process of identifying what the GIG should focus on next.

After much discussion, they unanimously voted for the next topic to be ‘Animal Welfare’ as this is something they care deeply about.

They are in the process of developing a ‘Dog Dirt Free’ zone around the PYCP building, as many children play there, but unfortunately people are letting their dogs foul there and not cleaning it up.

The group recently had a visit from Rachel Bliss from The Dogs Trust who spoke about the many aspects of Dog Welfare and Dog Safety. Rachel has agreed to come back to PYCP to do two more sessions for young people during the Easter holidays.

A couple of youngsters are very keen to look at protection of unicorns, and this is something that the workers are trying to figure out how best to tackle this subject-without shattering their illusions about unicorns being real!

Photos: (1) Suffragettes scene from GIG play, and (2) GIG trip to Cosmos to celebrate their West End Theatre run!

Pilton Youth & Childrens Project (PYCP)

#StrongerNorth: Working together for the community

FACENorth is working for the community … in all weathers!

walking in the snow

Over the last three months FACENorth (Focussing on Alternatives to Crime Edinburgh North), in partnership with POP (Preventative Opportunities Programme) have been working with a core group of eight to ten young people running a series of work parties at Towford Outdoor Centre, the bothy owned and managed by Muirhouse Youth Development Group and MYAdventure.   As well as working at Towford the group has painted the café in PYCP and bag-packed at Sainsbury’s in  Craigleith to raise money for MYDG.

This group of young people has been helping get Towford ready for use by the wider community whilst gaining real work experience, working as part of a team, following instructions, preparing and cooking their own meals, preparing a dinner table, washing up after themselves, showing respect for themselves, their environment and for others, planning and implementing ideas, conservation training, learning about their own and a new environment and  most importantly putting something back into their own Community.

When we started, there was no heating or hot water in the bothy, few lights downstairs and very basic cooking facilities, so with some nights dropping to below freezing the warmth of sleeping bags at night with a meal and hot drink were very welcome!

towford 2So far the group has removed an unsafe, old mouldy shed which had stood unused for a number of years and turned the space left into to a temporary car parking space. They have also planted trees, removed old wood from around the site, cleared work areas, helped to create a temporary road surface at the entrance to the Centre, dug out trenches to create a drainage system to stop the access road from flooding, removed root systems around the trenches and carried out general labouring work.

With the Centre being surrounded by over 17 acres of ground including hills, forest and a large pond, the group intends to return to  dig more trenches and create a proper road drainage system using underground pipes etc., create a new access road to the centre with an asphalt/concrete surface, clear an old deforested area to help create a football pitch/camp area, assist in the planning and creation of a bike and walking track, clear and drain the pond area and re-route part of a river to run through the pond to allow this to be used for fishing, canoeing and wildlife area!

Once plans are finalised for the remembrance area for Mikaeel  Kular the group is keen to  contribute to  getting  this ready  so that  whole community of North Edinburgh has somewhere to  spend some quiet reflection time.

painting pycpAt Pilton Youth and Children’s Project the group has painted the café area (above), creating a brighter more user friendly area for centre users to enjoy and the group will shortly be taking part in a conservation project based on the local cycle paths.

Too grand! STV Appeal support for PYCP

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Pilton Youth and Children’s Project (PYCP) has received £2000 from the STV Appeal 2014. The funding is welcome news for the local project and will support PY’s clubs and groups throughout the year. 

The STV Appeal team’s Natalie Wright called in at The Greenhouse last week to present the cheque and met children from PY’s P5 – P7 Club.

PYCP provides a wide range of services and activities – from open clubs and groups to community and school-based individual support in North Edinburgh. Each provision is designed to meet the needs of a particular age and peer group, and activities are tailored to meet these needs in consultation with the children and young people involved.

PYCP carry out open access youth work plus promotion of good health and well being.  The project offers targeted and referred support work to children and young people in need.  There is also a Preventative Opportunities Programme which supports young people by engaging their whole family in activities, outings and workshops together.

The STV Appeal is committed to making a difference in the lives of children and young people living in poverty in Scotland.  Across the country, 220,000 children live in poverty and figures from the Campaign to End Child Poverty show that in Edinburgh it’s actually 21.1% of children.  Pilton Youth and Children’s Project is one of the projects the STV Appeal is supporting in Edinburgh.

Since launch in 2011, the STV Appeal has raised over £8.2 million with 297 big and small grants distributed to projects across all 32 local authority areas in Scotland, providing much needed support to over 37,000 children. The money raised is distributed to provide practical help like food and warm clothes; create opportunities for training and employability; and enable social and emotional support for those who need it most.

PYCP youth and children’s worker Mark Hunter said: “As someone who has been part of PYCP for the past ten years, I have witnessed firsthand the positive impact that the project has made in the lives of so many young people, their families and the community around them.

“I think PYCP is unique in the way that it is there for children when they start their school career aged five and continues to be there for them until they are 18 and beyond. It is really important that we can provide opportunities for all children and young people in Pilton to have fun with their friends and take part in organised activities, all free of charge.

“Because of that we are ideally placed to offer additional support to those who want it and support all young people to reach their potential. Being part of PYCP has been immensely rewarding for me and I’m excited to see how the next ten years pans out too.”

Rob Woodward, STV CEO and trustee of the STV Appeal, said: “The money donated to the STV Appeal remains in Scotland and will help bring about a positive change to the lives of vulnerable children and young people on our doorstep.  With the help of the extraordinary fundraising efforts taking place in communities across the country we have raised an incredible £2.6m in 2014 allowing us to make grants to 297 projects.  We are extremely grateful to everyone who supported this year’s Appeal.”

Sir Tom Hunter, trustee of the STV Appeal, said: “Yet again the people of Scotland have cast their vote – end child poverty.  Through the STV Appeal we are attempting to deliver sustainable solutions to do just that.  It is simply unacceptable in modern Scotland to still have young people debilitated by poverty, through this project and many more the people of Scotland are doing their level best to combat poverty.”

Sir Ian Wood, trustee of the STV Appeal, said: “The generosity of the people in Scotland who provide such great support to the STV Appeal is incredibly encouraging and heart-warming. However, it is deeply concerning that there continues to be a significant requirement across Scotland for financial support for child poverty.

“Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce, a commission I chaired recently, has the overarching aim to enable Scotland’s young people to move into sustainable employment upon leaving education. But how can they achieve positive destinations if they have a less than adequate start in life?

“I sincerely believe that the grants donated by the STV Appeal can have a significant impact on the lives of Scotland’s young people and make a real contribution to eradicating child poverty in Scotland.”

The STV Appeal 2015 is now well underway with an exciting line-up of fundraising activities planned. Watch this space!

PYCP Christmas Fair

We are having a fundraising Christmas fair at PY on Saturday 6 December from 2 – 4 pm.

py xmasCome along on the day to enjoy the atmosphere – we have a special VIP guest who will be floating around for the event and have lots of fantastic prizes on the tombola and raffle.

We are also being donated a cake to do a guess the weight on – the twist is that the cake is going to be a replica of PY Greenhouse building. Hopefully he will touch up the roof and make it more green than it actually is … !

I hope you can come along,

Debbie McMillan
Senior Administrator, Pilton Youth & Children’s Project

 

 

Love's in the air at The Greenhouse!

PY4There was a great turn out when Pilton Youth & Children’s Project (PYCP) held their annual general meeting at The Greenhouse on Friday 24 October – it shows young folk just love PY!

PYCP’s Debbie McMillan said: “We had over fifty visitors on the day and handed out award certificates to some well-deserving children, young people and volunteers. They all received an “I Love PY” teeshirt too which are being modelled in some of the photos.

“We also launched our new Annual Report which is available to anyone who would like a copy. A new member joined our board at the AGM but we could do with more board members – if you know anyone who might be interested please get in touch.”

PY3

Interested? Contact call Debbie on 332 9815 or email Debbie@pycp.co.uk

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Website: www.pycp.co.uk
Facebook: Pilton Youth & Children’s Project (PYCP)

You for coffee?

Is your group, organisation or club supporting Macmillan’s Coffee Morning? If so – let us know – we’ll share your event with NEN readers!

It’s Macmillan’s biggest fundraising event, where people across the UK are asked to hold a coffee morning and raise money for people living with cancer. In 2013, 154,000 people signed up, raising a record £20 million.

Cancer is the toughest fight most of us will ever face. And as treatments improve, more and more people are living with cancer in their daily lives. The money you raise at your coffee morning will help make sure no one has to face cancer alone, from the moment they’re diagnosed, through treatment and beyond.

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Join Gladys at PYCP’s event on Saturday from 10.30 – 2pm!

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Also on Saturday, Granton Parish Church Big Coffee Morning kicks off at 10am in the West Hall. Can you help? Contact Heather McArdle

Grnton Parish Church logo

 

You can also sign up to host your own coffee morning by visiting www.macmillan.org.uk/coffee or telephone 0300 1000 200.

PYCP’s Gig Group to stage referendum sketch show

yes no images

Pilton Youth & Children’s Project (PYCP) Gig Group is staging a drama sketch show about democracy and the independence referendum next week. Yes? No? Maybe So!! takes place in The Greenhouse on Tuesday (16 September) at 6.45pm.

Tickets are only 50p, and all proceeds go to a charity of the young people’s choosing – but hurry … places are strictly limited and tickets are selling fast!

An outstandingly brilliant performance from the kids…this show will be a hit and these young stars will surely soon be appearing in West End shows…a must see!! ***** – PY Times

Now with reviews like that, can you afford to miss this show?

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