Gillespie Macandrew donates £53,000 to Change Mental Health and Richmond’s Hope

Scottish law firm Gillespie Macandrew has donated a record £53,000 to its charity partners, Change Mental Health and Richmond’s Hope, as part of the firm’s long-standing commitment to social responsibility and community engagement.

The partnerships, announced in March, reflect the firm’s dedication to supporting charities nominated by staff through fundraising initiatives, volunteering, and financial contributions.

Richmond’s Hope provides children and young people aged 4-18 years old with the support, tools and space to process their grief after losing someone close to them.

Change Mental Health is a national mental health charity delivering non-clinical, person-centred support to people affected by mental illness in communities across Scotland.

Over the past nine years, Gillespie Macandrew has donated more than £350,000 to Scottish charities demonstrating the firm’s dedication to aligning with sustainable development goals that help strengthen communities and drive positive social change.

Amy McDowell, Partner and Head of Gillespie Macandrew’s ESG Committee said: “We are delighted to mark the first year of our partnership with Change Mental Health and Richmond’s Hope with a record donation.

“At Gillespie Macandrew, we believe it’s our responsibility to support organisations making a real difference in our communities. These charities provide vital services to people facing some of life’s most challenging circumstances, and we are proud to play a part in their work.

“Our charity partnerships are central to our award-winning ESG activities, which includes a strategic commitment to donate a percentage of pre-tax profits each year.

“The charities were chosen by our colleagues through a democratic process, ensuring the causes we support truly resonate with our team and align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals we strive to advance.”

Alison Cairns, Chief Executive at Richmond’s Hope added: “We are excited to be working with Gillespie Macandrew as a charity partner for 2025-2027. This funding will help us reach more bereaved children and families and have a meaningful impact on their futures.

“Thank you to everyone at Gillespie Macandrew for the funding and the partnership over the next two years.

“We are also delighted to recognise the wider support shown through volunteering, the generous furniture donation towards our new Edinburgh base, and facilitating the online training session with the Gillespie Macandrew team which has strengthened our partnership and benefited the children and families we support.”

Jonny Cobbold, Director of Development at Change Mental Health said: “This first period of our partnership with Gillespie Macandrew, alongside Richmond’s Hope, has been incredibly fruitful in enabling us to change attitudes and tackle stigma around mental illness.

“Their keen interest in our work has been demonstrated through their participation in our new mental health training offer. We were also delighted to welcome colleagues from their team to our inaugural People First Summit in Edinburgh.

“This pre-tax profit donation is vital in ensuring we can support more people across Scotland and do more to raise awareness across Scottish communities.

“We cannot wait to see what’s in store for the remainder of the partnership over the next year or so, ensuring we can continue to fight for a future where no one faces mental illness alone.”

Gillespie Macandrew has offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Perth, advising clients on all areas of land and rural business, private client, commercial real estate, renewable energy, tax and disputes, combining a personal approach with industry-leading expertise.

With a strong emphasis on ESG and charity involvement, the firm actively supports its local communities through financial contributions, fundraising, and volunteer work.

Fort Kinnaird gives back to the community with charity donations

Fort Kinnaird has donated £5,000 to help some of the charities and organisations most impacted by the pandemic across the capital’s Niddrie and Craigmillar areas.

The local grassroots charities have each received £1,000 from a dedicated fund set up by Fort Kinnaird owners British Land and were selected due to the key role they play in supporting the local community.

Venchie Children & Young People’s Project, Thistle Foundation, Craigmillar Now, Richmond’s Hope and Caring in Craigmillar are among the charities to receive support from Fort Kinnaird.

Venchie Children & Young People’s Project provides play, recreation, and issue-based youth work to school children from across Niddrie, with access to activities including drama club, residentials, and breakfast and after school clubs.

Thistle Foundation is a charity supporting those with long-term health conditions and disabilities, enabling them to live independently in their own homes, while Craigmillar Now brings the local community together through art with a host of different exhibitions throughout the year.

Richmond’s Hope provides support for children and young people dealing with bereavement by offering a safe space for children to work through their grief, helping them to preserve memories of their loved one, explore their feelings, and provide them with coping strategies for handling their loss.

Caring in Craigmillar is a charity dedicated to improving the quality of life for vulnerable older people with complex care needs, preventing them from becoming isolated and encouraging community integration.

Liam Smith, centre director at Fort Kinnaird, said: “The past 12 months have been an incredibly challenging time for local charities who have seen funding disrupted by the pandemic. Our commitment to our community has never been more important, and I’m so pleased we can support some of those organisations that need it most.

“The chosen charities do such amazing work across our immediate local communities of Niddrie and Craigmillar and we hope our donation goes some way in helping them to continue to do so.”

This initiative is part of Fort Kinnaird’s wider programme of work in the community which included the launch of its Giving Box installation, designed to encourage visitors to make small donations while at the centre to help support local organisations.

Barratt supports three local charities

Young people and mental health are the focus of Barratt East Scotland’s latest charitable donation round.  Barratt has made donations of £1,000 each to 3 Scotland-based charities: 

·       Penumbra – a mental health charity supporting adults and young people

·       Richmond’s Hope – supporting bereaved young people aged 4-18yrs

·       Teenage Cancer Trust – providing support and treatment for young people aged 13-24 

As part of its Community Fund, the homebuilder is committed to supporting a selection of local charities, chosen by Barratt staff, within Edinburgh, Fife and the Lothians with new donations every month throughout 2019. 

Alison Condie, Managing Director, Barratt Homes East Scotland, said: “The work that Penumbra, Richmond’s Hope and Teenage Cancer Trust do is crucial to the communities in which we operate.

“We are delighted that our donations will make such a difference to people – especially children and young adults – in our local area. Every charity we support though our Community Fund initiative is chosen by our staff and the causes they support are close to our hearts.” 

Nigel Henderson, chief executive of Penumbra, said: “As a mental health charity providing support to around 1800 adults and young people across Scotland each week, we are delighted to benefit from the Barratt Homes East Community Fund.

“We have a range of projects across Scotland, supporting people who experience mental ill health to live fulfilling lives in their communities. This money will support our Recovery Fund which enables people to try out new activities and opportunities.”

Barratt Homes is committed supporting the communities in which it operates. 

For more information on Barratt Homes and the communities it operates in visit www.barratthomes.co.uk. To find out more about the incredible work being done at Penumbra, visit www.penumbra.org.uk

To learn more about the work Richmond’s Hope do to support bereaved children, visit www.richmondshope.org.uk, and to learn about Teenage Cancer Trust, visit www.teenagecancertrust.org.