DREAM TEAM

A TEAM of Port Glasgow High School pupils have secured £3,000 in funding for a lifeline Inverclyde charity in a bid to tackle poverty and social isolation.

Classmates Rob McNee, Gordon McCallum, Ryan Harkin and Coran Chisholm all aged 14 recently took part in the Youth Philanthropy Initiative (YPI).

The project sees schools across the country tasked with directing a grant to a local cause which has been championed by pupils through a programme of teamwork, research and competition.

Since being introduced in Scotland by The Wood Foundation in 2008, more than 310,000 young people have taken part in YPI with £6.8 million being donated to a range of charities.

Pupils are asked to select a social issue, before identifying a local organisation whose work is focused on that topic.

Each team researches their social issue and creates a presentation which is delivered to a panel of teachers within their school.

In their winning submission, Rob, Gordon, Ryan and Coran emphasised how the money would help Belville Community Garden’s work to tackle poverty and social isolation through various programmes.

Rob said: “The presentation was a bit nerve-wracking, but it was good.

“Belville do a lot of good for the community and the environment.

“It was absolutely amazing to get the funding. We were just blown away.”

Belville’s environmental officer Don Thomas, who worked alongside the pupils while they prepared their presentation, thanked the team for their efforts to secure the funding.

The money will go towards supporting the charity’s existing social isolation projects, such as its gardening club and ESOL classes.

Teacher Greg Starling has led YPI programmes at various schools over the past decade and says it is always one of his annual ‘highlights’.

He told the Tele: “It was genuinely really difficult to pick a winner.

“The work the guys have done to liaise with Don is a really good skill for the future it’s about being able to pick up the phone, send emails and organise things.

“People have a perception of young people not being able to speak to folk, but actually it’s the opposite.

“I think YPI’s a great way of bucking that trend.

“When you see the work that these guys have done and the conversations they have about real, quite sharp issues, it’s brilliant.

“We hope we can do some good work with Don at Belville in the future.”