New charity gets cash boost from local firm
Nd
A NEW charity has been launched in Inverclyde with the backing of a local business to the tune of £100k - in a bid to tackle some of the area’s key issues.
The Newark Trust has been established with a primary focus on addressing child poverty, as well as assisting young people with disabilities and supporting communities across the district.
A major £100,000 donation from Port Glasgow firm McLaren Packaging will help kick-start the organisation’s vision to improve the lives, health and welfare of people in Inverclyde and create opportunities for a positive future.
Manager Claire Stone said: “I am excited to see the trust receiving such a positive start. Much work has been going on to establish the charity, including deciding the name, which
is inspired by Newark Castle, the original settlement and historic cornerstone of the local community.
“The castle was for a long time hidden behind the giant cranes and sheds of the Clyde’s great shipyards and has only recently re-emerged to take its place in the townscape of Port Glasgow, symbolising a re-igniting of community that The Newark Trust aims to emulate.
“Newark was the original name for the town until the late seventeenth century, when it became known as Newport
Glasgow, then simply Port Glasgow.”
The charity is currently governed through a board of six trustees, including three founding members: Jennifer McLaren and her sons Donald and Michael, Finlay Campbell, Alasdair Miller and chaired by Nikola Miller, with more to be added in the future.
McLaren Packaging was formed as a family business in 1979 and alongside its initial financial contribution it has pledged to donate a percentage of its profits every year to the trust.
A committee has been created for employees of the company to suggest important causes to the trust board, while more than 30 workers will be raising cash for the charity by taking part in the Glasgow Kiltwalk this weekend.
To donate, head to justgiving. com/crowdfunding/thenewarktrustkiltwalk.