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.