Star pupils win £3,000 for cancer care charity
Budding philanthropists from Campbeltown Grammar School (CGS) are celebrating after their top presentation skills won £3,000 for a Kintyre charity.
The team of S3 pupils – Emma, Calum, Ralphy and Charlie – used their talents to research and promote the work of the Mairi Semple Cancer Fund, which financially supports people in Kintyre diagnosed with cancer, thanks to a partnership between CalMac and The Wood Foundation’s Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI).
The YPI scheme is an active citizenship programme that encourages young people to make a difference in their local communities while developing important life skills, with mentoring support from CalMac employees.
Pupils from participating schools form teams to research social issues in their area and the charities working to address them. They then make a case for their chosen charity as to why they should receive a £3,000 grant to help with their work.
All of the teams at CGS identified a local charity, researched their work, then created videos and presentations.
Staff from CalMac worked with the pupils to help them develop their research and presentation skills, while other staff sat on the judging panel for the final.
The other finalists taking part in Campbeltown worked with Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (health), Kintyre Link Club (mental health and isolation), Shopper-Aide (elderly and isolation) and Argyll and Bute Women’s Aid (domestic abuse).
All of the presentations were of a high standard and judges were impressed with the level of work each group had put into the project.
CalMac staff who were involved in either mentoring or judging the entries were Euan Stout, Alex Hunter and Fiona Borland.
Gordon McKillop, corporate social responsibility manager for CalMac, said: ‘Young people are increasingly more aware of social issues and the effect on the lives of people in their communities.
‘YPI is a wonderful example of partnership working and we are proud that our people support the young people involved progress through the programme and make a difference in their local area.’
Alex Reid, YPI’s national co-ordinator, added: ‘Congratulations to Campbeltown Grammar School’s winning team for securing funds for the Mairi Semple Cancer Fund.
‘We thank CalMac for its continued support in empowering young people to lead change.’