Tag: sponsor

Dalkeith Rugby Club welcomes more than 400 families to Minis Festival

Families from across Edinburgh and the Lothians turned out in force at the Dalkeith Minis Rugby Festival 2022 on Sunday (15 May), which was supported by leading housebuilder Stewart Milne Homes.

Hosted at King’s Park by Dalkeith Rugby Club, more than 400 primary school children across six teams including Dalkeith, Falkirk, Lasswade, Leith, Penicuik, and Preston Lodge competed in the round robin festival of 12-minute matches throughout the day.

With a people-first ethos, Stewart Milne Homes was the main sponsor of the event and provided funding to support the organisation of the minis rugby festival which has been encouraging friendly community sport for over 15 years.

The award-winning housebuilder also provided a gazebo for the event which was the main hub for all attendees on the day and supplied re-usable water bottles for all the children to keep them hydrated throughout the event and take home for future use.

Rugby balls were also donated to the club for the kids to use when on the pitch and all participants proudly took home a competition medal as a keepsake of the action-packed day.

Dawn Lawrence, Sales Consultant at Stewart Milne Homes’ Shawfair development, said: “Events such as the Dalkeith Minis Rugby Festival are the foundation of thriving communities, and at Stewart Milne Homes we share the club’s passion in creating vibrant places and a sense of belonging that people want to call home.

“After virtual events have dominated the agenda for the last two years, it’s fantastic to see a huge number of youngsters get outdoors once again into green, natural space and participating in activities that promote healthy lifestyles.

“We’re very proud to work with community groups and sports clubs, and it is humbling to be able to offer a helping hand to an organisation which shares our people-first values.  I’d like to say thank you to Dalkeith Rugby Club for collaborating with us on such a fun, family-orientated event.”

Christopher Boyle, Head of Minis Rugby at Dalkeith Rugby Club, said: “The Minis Rugby Festival is one of the highlights in our calendar and we are thrilled to see such a fantastic turn out for the 2022 event.

“The whole team shares a passion for enhancing sporting opportunities across the Midlothian region and beyond for our next generation and seeing these efforts culminate in events is incredibly rewarding.

“The funding support and gifted items from Stewart Milne Homes have been gratefully received by the Club and everyone who attended.”

Stewart Milne Homes is currently creating a number of new developments across Central Scotland, including Shawfair in Midlothian, which will feature 115 new homes as well as communal green space and excellent active travel links to the wider community.

The luxurious three-, four-, five- and six-bedroom homes on offer are from the housebuilder’s new ‘Villages’ range which has been expertly designed for modern-day lifestyles, creating the very best of contemporary and considered living for the whole family.

For further information, visit www.stewartmilnehomes.com

Edinburgh’s Scott Quin aims for back-to-back Paralympic medals

After winning a silver medal for Team GB at Rio in 2016, Edinburgh-based para-swimmer Scott Quin hopes to double his medal tally this summer in Tokyo.

Scott has been sponsored by national rail contractor, QTS Group, throughout the last five years in his preparation for the Tokyo games.

In recognition of his continued commitment to his sport and to help inspire other young athletes to follow their dreams, QTS has named Scott as an ambassador for its Youth Athlete Programme.

Launched in 2014, the programme supports aspiring young athletes, by providing funding to help towards the costs of training and competing. QTS currently has 15 athletes on the programme, including Scott and fellow ambassador, skier, Nicole Ritchie.

The summer Paralympics will take place in August and will be 31 year-old Scott’s second games. In Rio 2016, he narrowly missed out on the gold medal in the 100m Men’s S14 Breaststroke, taking home a silver, but this year he’s aiming for the top podium spot.

Following a tough 18 months of training which has brought new challenges following the Covid-19 pandemic, Scott is now working with a new trainer Matt Trodden. Matt has known Scott for 10 years, but it was not until this year that he took control of Scott’s Paralympic preparations.

Scott said: “Rio 2016 was an amazing experience, but for me it is all about the swimming and trying to inspire other young athletes to get into the pool!

“That is why I enjoy the work with QTS Group so much, the company are really supportive and it’s a privilege to be an ambassador. QTS has relieved the financial strain of competing from myself and my family, paying for travel, accommodation, food, and equipment. This means I can put all my concentration into the pool and fully focus on my training, and hopefully some more success.

“Being an ambassador has also inspired me to work towards a career behind the scenes when I eventually can’t compete at the highest level. I want to inspire other young athletes – across all abilities – that if you work hard enough and keep your feet grounded, anything is possible.”

Scott was born five weeks prematurely with a life-threatening condition, Crouzon syndrome which causes the brain and skull to fuse together.

With just a three percent chance of survival he underwent an eight-hour surgery where medics broke every bone in his face, reshaped his skull and lifted his eyes upwards. He was left with a large scar from ear to ear, tunnel vision and learning difficulties.

Scott is now one of Britain’s top para sport swimmers and the European record holder at 100m and 200m breaststroke. He hopes to add Paralympic Gold medal holder to his long list of sporting achievements this summer.

As an ambassador to QTS Group’s Youth Athlete Programme, Scott is a testament to the programme’s success. Scott hopes to help nurture and inspire other young athletes as they join the programme and progress in their sporting careers.

Alan McLeish, Managing Director of QTS Group said: “Scott is a true inspiration to anyone that meets him. His outlook on life is so humbling when you know what he has been through.

“It is a genuine privilege to be able to support his training and preparations as a para-swimmer, and specifically, the Tokyo games. Everyone at QTS will be setting their alarms to watch Scott in Tokyo to cheer him on!”

Hibernian FC’s new principal partner announced

UTILITA GETS ‘UP FRONT’ TO CELEBRATE HIBERNIAN FC’s PRO-PLANET APPROACH TO FOOTBALL

Utilita – the UK’s only energy company created to help households use less energy – has officially announced this week that it will become the front of shirt sponsor as part of its two-year principal partner agreement with one of the UK’s greenest football clubs, Hibernian F.C.

The deal follows a successful partnership between Utilita and Hibernian F.C. during the 2020 and 2021 season, which saw the energy company’s logo on the back of shirt. Now in the fifth year of their long-term partnership, Utilita will feature in prime position on the front of the club’s home and away shirts and third kit strips, which are soon to be unveiled.

Both Utilita and Hibernian F.C. share many common values, with the two biggest being pro-planet and pro-local community.

Over the past few seasons, Utilita has been working with the club to make a difference within the local area, most recently donating significant sums to the Community Foundation’s “Famous Five a Day Campaign” – which provides food parcels to families who need them – and donating match passes to local schools.

Utilita also has offices and an exclusive high street Energy Hub in the buzzing port district of Leith.

Opened just two years ago, the hugely successful Energy Hub is a first-of-its-kind in Scotland, offering face-to-face customer service, energy efficiency advice and technology, access to interactive kid-friendly energy efficiency apps, and a dedicated community space that is open for the public to book and use from Monday to Saturday. Locals can also purchase Hibernian F.C. merchandise in-store.  

Central to the partnership will be Utilita’s industry award-winning Energy High 5 movement – helping households to avoid the five habits that waste energy, enabling households to save up to £163 per year, while helping the planet. Everyone can take part and start saving today, at www.utilita.co.uk/energyhigh5 . 

Greg McEwan, Hibernian F.C.’s Interim Chief Executive, commented on the support from Utilita: “The front of shirt sponsor needs to be just right, and must share the same values as our club.

“Therefore, I am delighted that we have exactly that in our partnership with Utilita, which is pro-planet and pro-community – it’s great to see an energy company with such high moral standards. 

“The team at Utilita are passionate and want to make a difference, not only in terms of reducing energy bills, but in the local community too.” 

Jem Maidment, Utilita’s Chief Marketing Officer, said: “We couldn’t be prouder to be Hibernian F.C.’s principal partner after what has already been a hugely successful four seasons with the club.

“As the greenest club in Scotland – and the third greenest club in the UK – we share many common values and we’re chuffed of the support they’ve given us in backing Energy High 5, a campaign which encourages people to cut down their energy usage with five free and easy-to-follow tips – saving both their pocket and the planet!

“We’re excited to see what next season brings as Hibs take on European opposition.”

The partnership announcement follows Utilita’s newly launched Football Rebooted campaign with environmentalist and former goalkeeper, David James MBE, which encourages people to donate and claim pre-played football boots and all-weather football trainers, to save families a small fortune, as well as 136,000 tonnes of carbon – the same as taking 7,000 cars off the road for a year, or turning the energy off in one million medium-sized houses for a week. Over 500 pairs of boots were donated in the first 48-hours of the campaign launching. 

Football Rebooted is designed to put an aspirational spin on a mechanic that will get good boots through to families struggling to afford new ones, after Utilita’s State of Play report revealed that out of the 74 percent of families who had been impacted financially by the pandemic, 18 percent won’t be able to send their kids back to grassroots football as they can’t afford boots and other items such as goalie gloves and shin pads. 

Founded in 2003, Utilita is one of the nation’s fastest-growing independent energy suppliers – currently powering more than 800,000 UK customers. It’s established itself as a hugely-recognisable brand within British football, having supplied power to a number of iconic stadiums while partnering with over 20 clubs.

Baillie Gifford becomes Edinburgh Science Learning headline sponsor

Edinburgh-based investment management firm Baillie Gifford has become headline sponsor of Edinburgh Science Learning, the education arm of educational charity Edinburgh Science who also produces the world’s first and Europe’s biggest science festival.

To mark the occasion, Samantha Pattman, Sponsorship Manager at Baillie Gifford joined Joan Davidson, Head of Learning at Edinburgh Science at Victoria Primary School in Edinburgh where P2 pupils took part in a special preview of Generation Science workshop Bricks and Blocks: a hands-on introduction to programming.

Using laptops and simple drag-and-drop coding, pupils learn about robotics, coding and problem solving.

Joan Davidson, Head of Learning at Edinburgh Science said: “We are extremely pleased to be continuing to work with Baillie Gifford who now become the headline sponsor of Edinburgh Science Learning.

“Their invaluable support will go towards our flagship education projects, Generation Science and Careers Hive, as well as enabling more primary school children to access the Edinburgh Science Festival at City Art Centre Open Days.

“It will also help us deliver our science education projects in the local community.

“Our vision is a world where the value of STEM is recognised and celebrated, in order to achieve a brighter and more sustainable future. With 30 years of experience delivering high-quality engaging shows and workshops, we are a leader in our field, and we are thrilled to have Baillie Gifford supporting us in this ambition.”

Samantha Pattman, Baillie Gifford’s Sponsorship Manager said: “Baillie Gifford is delighted to be headline sponsor for Edinburgh Science Learning. Headquartered in Edinburgh, the firm is proud to play an active role in its community by supporting a diverse variety of projects across festivals and the arts, education and social inclusion.

“As science, technology, engineering and maths roles struggle to be filled and the breadth of STEM-related prospects grow, inspiring young people in science has never been more important.”

Edinburgh Science Learning is one of the UK’s leading science outreach providers and delivers shows, workshops and interactive activities to schools throughout the year. Generation Science is the largest primary science touring programme and over the past three decades it has reached over 1 million pupils around Scotland.

Baillie Gifford’s support of Edinburgh Science Learning will go towards:

1. Generation Science – a programme that brings unique and inspiring science lessons directly to classrooms all over Scotland with highly interactive shows and hands-on workshops. The tour visits schools across Scotland from February to June each year. This year’s offer includes 10 shows and workshops, e.g. brand-new Creative Coding which sees pupils coding their very own dancing robot or Body Builders where students are taken on a journey through our bodily systems with colourful props and hands-on demonstrations.

The spring tour of Generation Science starts on 17 February and will see trained science communicators create interactive and fun environments in nurseries and P1-P7 classrooms and gym halls all over the country. Generation Science is a vital part of the Scottish Government’s STEM strategy for its support of students’ and teachers’ science education in the local authorities.

2. Careers Hive – an immersive careers education event designed to give students in S1-S3 a new way to think about their futures. It highlights the opportunities available to those who study STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths) through participatory activities, discussions with early careers STEM professionals and skills workshops. Careers Hive 2020 runs from 24–29 February at the National Museum of Scotland with a public open day on Saturday 29 February.

3. City Art Centre Open Days – on 1 and 2 April, hundreds of pupils from several Edinburgh schools will experience an exclusive preview of the Edinburgh Science Festival’s flagship family venue ahead of its opening to Festival audiences on 4 April.

With five floors to explore, this unique science playground offers several bookable workshops as well as drop-in activities, including ER where children perform a knee, abdomen or brain surgery, Ocean Constructors where they build an exploratory underwater craft or Buzz about bees, teaching all about the importance of bees to the environment and human existence.

Thanks to the support from Baillie Gifford, the Open Days initiative was introduced in 2019 and saw over 400 pupils from 8 Edinburgh schools enjoying the City Art Centre on 3 and 4 April last year.

4. Community Engagement – Edinburgh Science Learning’s projects also include bespoke workshops and activities for various age groups which are developed in close partnership with community partners across Edinburgh.