The winner of Aldi’s Supermarket Sweep in Edinburgh has raised £1,256.02 for a local foodbank while picking up over £600 in Aldi favourites for herself.
Aldi’s popular Supermarket Sweep recently arrived in Edinburgh and lucky shopper Ame Robertson, who was chosen as the winner of an in-store competition, took part in the five-minute trolley dash for charity on Wednesday 22 June.
As well as taking home a trolley full of goodies, Ame successfully found the hidden inflatable in store, meaning Aldi Scotland doubled the total value of her haul and donated the lump sum to her nominated charity, Edinburgh City Mission.
Aldi Supermarket Sweep winner, Ame Robertson, said:“I was surprised to be drawn to take part in the sweep, as I’m not usually that lucky.
“The five minutes passed really quickly, but I am very pleased with what I was able to pick up and the amount that was donated to the food bank, especially in these challenging times.
“Thank you to Aldi again, I had the best time!”
Duncan Cuthill, CEO, Edinburgh City Mission, said:“We are very pleased to have been chosen as the recipient for money raise through the Supermarket Sweep at Aldi Hermiston Gait. The cost-of-living crisis is a daily reality for all of us, but it is having the biggest impact of lower income families.
“Our Foodbank+ network of seven foodbanks in and around Edinburgh has seen a big increase in the number of people who are in crisis and need short-term food support this year.
“We are grateful to our volunteers who provide a warm welcome and friendship in each Foodbank+ and to our many donors who enable us to provide food and other household essentials. Thank you once again to Aldi Hermiston Gait for the support.
Richard Holloway, Regional Managing Director for Scotland, said:“We are proud that the Aldi Supermarket Sweep is a firm favourite across the country, and we are so pleased to bring it back this year.
“Congratulations to Ame who managed to raise an incredible £1,256.02 for Edinburgh City Mission and snap up a whole load of Aldi treats for herself.”
They’ve played for Her Majesty the Queen as part of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations – and now fans can hear the Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland on a national tour.
Scotland’s best-known military band has launched a series of concerts, “Celebrating our Heroes” to raise funds for Poppyscotland this autumn.
Renowned for their performances at Holyrood Palace and the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the talented musicians will be touring venues in Livingston, Hamilton, Perthshire, Angus, and the Scottish Borders.
This year’s repertoire will include folk music inspired from across Scotland, featuring a collaboration with Hawick folk musician and songwriter, Alan Brydon.
The events follow similar successful tours in 2018 and 2019. All proceeds will go to help Poppyscotland deliver its life-changing support for members of the Armed Forces community across Scotland.
The first one will take place at Hamilton Town House on Friday 2nd September, followed by dates at Howden Park Centre, Livingston, Montrose Academy, and Bankfoot Church Centre, Perthshire. The final, festive concert will be on December 15th at Hawick Town Hall.
Gordon Michie, Poppyscotland’s Head of Fundraising, said: “We’re delighted to welcome back the Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland after a two-year break due to the pandemic, and are very grateful for their continuing support. This is a fantastic chance to hear the internationally acclaimed band at local venues around Scotland.
“The concerts promise to be unforgettable evenings, featuring folk music inspired from across Scotland, from the Borders to the Western Isles, and guaranteed to get your feet tapping! They are always very popular, so we’d encourage music lovers to buy their tickets early before they sell out.
“All funds raised will help us continue our vital work, supporting current and former servicemen and women and their families, which is now needed more than ever.”
The Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, based at Dreghorn Barracks, Edinburgh, is one of the 22 Regular Army bands, and is made up of musicians who are also serving soldiers. As well as supporting the Army and performing at ceremonial occasions across Scotland, they have also played around the world, traveling to Hong Kong, New Zealand, Switzerland and Canada in recent years.
Concert dates are:
Hamilton Town House – Friday 2nd September 2022
Howden Park Centre, Livingston – Friday 30th September 2022
Montrose Academy – Friday 21st October 2022
Bankfoot Church Centre, Perthshire – Friday 4th November 2022
Hawick Town Hall – Thursday 15th December 2022
Tickets cost £15 (£12 concessions) and are available via:
A growing number of families are accessing funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) across Scotland.The latest figures show that 121,101 children were in funded ELC places at the end of April 2022 – an increase of 9,527 since January 2022.
The entitlement to funded ELC increased to 1,140 hours in August last year, saving families up to £4,900 annually for each eligible child.
The ELC workforce also continues to increase, up 357 since January 2022, with 18,421 (FTE) staff now working in the sector. This marks a rise of 8,845 since 2016/17.
Children’s Minister Clare Haughey said: “It is clear funded ELC is making a real difference to families – particularly at a time when so many are struggling with the rising cost of living.
“Crucially, high quality ELC also helps to provide children with skills and confidence to carry into school education, and is a cornerstone for closing the poverty-related attainment gap.
“It’s also encouraging to see the workforce continue to grow and I’d like to thank everyone working in the sector for their continued hard work and dedication.”
Councillor Tony Buchanan, COSLA Children and Young People’s spokesperson said: “I’m pleased that today’s figures confirm that over 121,000 children are accessing additional funded early learning and childcare hours from Scotland’s Councils and their partners.
“The increased availability of funded early learning and childcare is allowing children more time to play and learn, and more opportunities for parents and carers to work, study or volunteer, as well as significant financial savings for families.
“I particularly welcome that there has been a 15% increase in the number of eligible two-year-olds accessing increased hours between April 2021 and April 2022, as we know this will provide support for children and families who will benefit most.”
Thousands of children from low-income families will benefit from free childcare, activities and healthy food as part of a £10 million summer programme.
Available to children and young people aged five to 14 years old who need it most, the funding has been allocated to local authorities to supplement existing holiday programmes or to develop new ones.
Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “School holidays can be expensive for families, especially when household bills are soaring. This funding means children and young people who really need it will be able to access coordinated childcare, activities and nutritious food over the summer.
“They will have opportunities to play, socialise and access a range of activities that broaden their experiences and supplement their learning.
“Support will be targeted at the six priority family types at greatest risk of poverty, including lone parent families and families with a disabled adult or child. We have a national mission to tackle child poverty and, along with £21.75 million in funding for alternative holiday food provision for families eligible for free school meals, this offer will provide much-needed support over the summer.”
COSLA Children and Young People’s Spokesperson Councillor Tony Buchanan said: “The rising cost of living is exacerbating the already stark and unacceptable reality of poverty in the lives of children, young people, families and communities.
“We are pleased that this additional funding will enable local authorities to build on their regular summer programmes to enhance opportunities and support for priority groups of children and young people.
“Councils and their local delivery partners will provide varied programmes, incorporating activities, childcare, and food provision, in line with local needs and guided by what children, young people, and families themselves say will make a difference.”
Thistle Foundation programme gets green light from the Scottish Government to provide rehabilitation support to people across Scotland living with long-term health conditions
Innovative programme aims to make a life-changing difference for people living with long-term health conditions including people impacted by COVID-19;
Two million people in Scotland are living with at least one long-term health condition including long-COVID;
Programme will see the Thistle Foundation providing support and learning to teams of health and social care professionals across Scotland;
Initial £250,000 funding from the Scottish Government awarded to Thistle Foundation.
A new national development programme aimed at reshaping rehabilitation services for people living with long-term health conditions including people impacted by COVID-19, has been given the green light by the Scottish Government today, Thursday 30 June.
This Scotland-wide programme is developed by the Scottish Government and Thistle Foundation, a leading Scottish health and wellbeing charity that supports people with long-term health conditions.
Healthcare Improvement Scotland estimates that around two million people in Scotland are living with at least one long-term health condition. This programme will support the, Once for Scotland Rehabilitation Approach which aims to: make rehabilitation more accessible to everyone who needs it, and enable the redesign of a wide range of community-based services.
Working in collaboration with organisations across NHS Scotland, Health and Social Care Partnerships and the third sector, Thistle Foundation will offer early adopters (services and teams) support to reshape rehabilitation services.
This will include early intervention, to ensure that more people get the rehabilitation and self-management support they need, sooner and closer to home.
Mark Hoolahan, CEO of Thistle Foundation said: “It’s fantastic to see this work receive funding from the Scottish Government. It allows us to extend some of the really successful support we have been offering health and social care professionals in and around Edinburgh, the Lothians and Fife, to a broader range of teams and services across Scotland.
“At Thistle, people are at the heart of what we do. This programme is about more than supporting people with their physical health. It is about supporting people to be connected within their communities, to feel confident and resilient – it’s about thriving rather than just surviving.
“By situating rehabilitation within the person’s community, with support from friends, family and the community around them, people will feel more empowered to lead and manage their situation and remain as independent as possible.”
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “We are pleased to be able to support this important work by the Thistle Foundation which fits with our Once for Scotland Rehabilitation Approach.
“Our approach focuses on enabling individuals to access person-centred rehabilitation based on their individual needs. In doing so we hope to make rehabilitation more accessible for all.”
In recent years, Thistle Foundation has been working with Midlothian Health and Social Care Partnership, in all 12 GP practices across the area. The collaboration aims to support culture change, shifting the emphasis of health and social care services towards a focus on prevention, anticipatory care, recovery and support for self-management.
Dr Hilary Ansell from Newbattle Medical Practice, said: “My experience with Thistle over the last few years has allowed me to refer with confidence even my most vulnerable patients who have previously had difficulty engaging with NHS services.
“Thistle offer patient centred support, advice and lifestyle changes and their flexibility encourages patients to participate and feel valued. With Thistle, they will continue contact until the individual feels ready to engage – this stops the most disadvantaged from slipping through the net.
“Their practitioners offer holistic support and have broad ranging knowledge of local support agencies and services. They are equally comfortable in working with people with mental and physical long term conditions.
“The aim is always to encourage each individual to grow in confidence to manage their own condition and be the best version of themselves.”
This new, Scottish Government funded development programme will launch across Scotland by late summer, with Thistle Foundation working with NHS Boards, Health and Social Care Partnerships and Third Sector organisations to agree and plan their requirements.
The UK has announced an increased contribution to NATO as the Prime Minister and Defence Secretary attend the NATO summit in Madrid.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace MP said: “We have always been clear that our strength and security comes from our alliances, and NATO is at the heart of that.
“The New Force Model and our presence in Estonia will ensure that the Alliance is able to respond at pace, helping to determine stability across Europe in the decades to come.”
RAF Typhoon and F-35B Lightning fighter jets, Royal Navy vessels including Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers, and brigade-sized land forces will all be made available to NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) as part of the New Force Model.
NATO has introduced the New Force Model in support of Leaders’ decision to modernise and strengthen the NATO Force Structure for the future. Allies will declare capabilities, equipment and forces available to support SACEUR, ensuring they are in the right place at the right time. This will allow the Alliance’s military command to plan for emerging threats, safe in the knowledge that these assets will be available to take part in the Alliance’s response.
The UK will also contribute to the new Allied Reaction Force: an agile, multi-domain and combat-effective force ready to deploy at very high readiness and to respond to a range of crises.
It comes as the Alliance has agreed a new posture of stronger forward defences to reflect the radically changed security context since Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the UK increased its presence in Estonia to include the temporary deployment of a second battlegroup, doubling the total number of deployed personnel to over 1,600.
The lethality of these deployments will be enhanced with advanced capabilities including helicopters and artillery systems. Meanwhile, the UK’s existing HQ in Tallinn will be expanded. Led by a Brigadier, it will support the rapid deployment of high readiness forces at the brigade level.
The UK will also support Estonia with training and logistics, the development of its first divisional-level HQ, as well as developing new ways of fighting through their joint hosting of the Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic European HQ, and supporting innovative dual use start-ups through the NATO Innovation Fund.
In addition to increasing its deployments to Estonia, since the Russian invasion the UK has also deployed hundreds of troops to Poland and sent more aircraft to conduct air policing in Romania. Meanwhile, HMS Prince of Wales has led the Alliance’s Maritime High Readiness Force since January 2022.
Funding of £65 million has been provided by the Scottish Government as part of UK’s military aid for Ukraine.
It will make up part of the £1 billion being provided for state of the art equipment including sophisticated air defence systems and thousands of pieces of vital kit for Ukrainian soldiers.
This follows £4 million in financial aid provided by the Scottish Government for humanitarian assistance for Ukraine, and a further £3 million worth of medical supplies.
Finance Secretary Kate Forbes said: “Scotland has been clear from the start that we condemn Russia’s unprovoked, illegal invasion of Ukraine. Scotland stands for democracy, human rights and the rule of law at home and abroad.
“We have become a place of refuge and sanctuary for displaced people from Ukraine, and have done all we can to get help those fleeing the country to escape the violence.
“This further funding is to assist Ukrainian armed forces to fight Russian aggression and the unspeakable brutality being perpetrated.
“We have agreed to providing funding on this occasion given the clear need to maximise the international effort to support Ukraine. However, we are clear that this must not be seen as any kind of precedent which leads to devolved budgets being used to help pay for clearly reserved policy areas.”
Please give a child dignity, confidence and a sense of belonging when they go to school. Times are hard and families need your help more than ever.
A set of uniform can be the difference between a child attending and engaging in school or staying away.
There are two ways you can get involved in our Sponsor A Child appeal this summer:
Email us at info.esub@gmail.com and we will send you details of a child’s age, gender and what’s needed for a “back to school” pack. You then shop for the items and drop them in to one of our collection baskets.
Donate money and we will do the shopping for you (please ask us for our bank details if you would prefer to donate directly or if you are donating on behalf of a group or company).
You can of course just buy an item or two of new school clothing, and we will add it into a pack. Our Amazon wishlist also remains open if you would like to have something sent directly to us.
June is Pride month and events such as Pride Glasgow and Edinburgh Pride, this Saturday (25th June), will be celebrating the history of gay rights and related civil rights movements.
Pride is a great way to encourage young people to feel comfortable to talk about their sexuality and gender identity, especially as at Childline we have delivered more than 4,000 counselling sessions to young people in Scotland and across the UK over the last year with worries about these issues.
Among these concerns, young people spoke to trained counsellors about experiences of coming out; questioning their sexuality or gender identity; gender dysphoria; discrimination and prejudice to sexuality or gender identity; and self-acceptance.
It can be a worrying time for young people who are facing these concerns, and it can be tough for parents and carers to know how to help.
One way for parents and carers to help their children feel confident to speak up is by simply having a conversation with them. Just by having a chat, or perhaps looking at some of the advice on the Childline or NSPCC websites, parents can help give young people the confidence to be proud of who they are.
Childline is also here for them. They can speak to a trained counsellor over the phone on 0800 1111 or via email or on a 1-2-1 chat via the Childline website.
The UK will provide £2.5 million for immediate life-saving support to people in Afghanistan affected by the devastating earthquake this week, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss announced yesterday.
At least 1,000 people are reported to have been killed in the disaster in the southeast of the country on Wednesday 22 June and more than 1,400 others injured. These numbers are expected to increase as responders reach the hardest-hit areas.
A total of £2 million will go to the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) to provide shelter, medication, water, sanitation, and other basic needs. The IFRC already has staff and volunteers working on the ground to respond to the crisis and help address the urgent humanitarian needs – including in Khost and Paktika, the 2 provinces most heavily impacted.
A further £500,000 will go to the Norwegian Refugee Council, who are already working on the ground, to provide shelter and cash assistance to those affected.
This support will come from the UK’s aid fund for Afghanistan, which is £286 million this financial year, one of the largest bilateral programmes. Last year the UK’s funding supported emergency health services, water, protection, shelter, food, and education through the UN Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund and World Food Programme.
International partners, including the United Nations and World Food Programme, are coordinating the global response and rapidly assessing the humanitarian needs. The UK is in direct contact with them to offer assistance and stands ready to consider any requests for aid or other help. UK aid was already delivering to the affected areas prior to the earthquake via the UN, NGOs and Red Cross.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: “The recent earthquake is a tragedy for the people of Afghanistan. The scale of need was already severe before the earthquake struck, with more than half of the population requiring humanitarian assistance.
“UK support will enable lifesaving supplies to be provided on the ground. Our aid budget for Afghanistan is one of the UK’s largest bilateral programmes and we will continue to work urgently with our international partners to respond to the unfolding humanitarian crisis.”
The UK co-hosted a high-level international pledging summit with the UN in March 2022, to provide more vital funds. This helped the response to the UN’s appeal of nearly $4.5 billion for Afghanistan, their largest appeal on record for a single country, reflecting the magnitude of the humanitarian challenge that was already facing the country before the earthquake.
UK funding is channelled through UN partners and NGOs. No funding goes to or through the Taliban.
A three times Olympic athlete has hit the ground running in a bid to support fellow Scottish sportswomen.
Record breaking British and European middle and long-distance runner Eilish McColgan has a string of records under her belt – and this month (June 2022) broke her mother Liz’s Scottish record to win a 10,000m race in the Netherlands with a time of 30 minutes 19.02 seconds.
And now she hopes to give others a helping hand to boost their own sporting careers.
Thirty-one-year-old Eilish and her partner, Olympian Michael Rimmer, 36, have jointly set up Giving Back To Track; a non-profit organisation that aims to inspire women from all walks of life to reach their athletic best.
Not only have they created a fund to provide financial help to female athletes in Scotland, aged between 16 and 22, but they have also launched a community scheme that supports Eilish’s local club, Dundee Hawkhill Harriers.
Giving Back to Track was formed just six weeks ago after what Eilish described as a “brainstorm” moment earlier this year. “I realised how incredibly lucky I’ve been to have support and sponsorship and now that I’m a little more comfortable I wanted to give something back,” she said.
“I know how hard it is to get started in this career, so we thought we’d put a call out to ask other female athletes in Scotland if we could help – they don’t need to be runners, they can be from any disciplines within running or track and field.
Giving Back to Track has already awarded six £1000 bursaries along with sports clothing from sponsors and career guideline advice from Eilish and Michael.
Eilish, whose mother Liz McColgan won the 10,000m world title in 1991, said initially the scheme will focus on her local club Dundee Hawkhill Harriers and will support young women and children from the community.
“No child should be priced out of a sport,” she said. “There are so many costs involved; the cost of track facilities, buying training kits, transportation and paying for club fees and this is where we are able to help”.
If the scheme runs smoothly, Eilish and Michael hope to extend the sponsorship more widely: “We’re really just at the starting point – we’d actually love to grow it to include guys as well and not just in Scotland but in England, Wales and Ireland,” she said.
Last month (May 2022) Eilish claimed the European and British 10km road race at the Great Manchester Run, shaving two seconds from Paula Radcliffe’s unbeaten 19-year record, with a time of 30 minutes and 19 seconds.
