Tea Club offers shedloads of fun
Team up to give pupils hot meals and film
An Errol-based shed builder has partnered with a Dundee charity to launch a ‘tea club’ project that will provide hot meals for in-need pupils and their families this winter.
The family-run Gillies and Mackay has joined up with Dundee Bairns and donated all profits from its upcoming annual shed sale - £2500 - to set up the tea club at Rowantree Primary school in Dundee.
A total of 340 pupils currently attend the school with 92 per cent considered to be living below the poverty line.
The initiative at Rowantree will see 40 pupils and their families invited to sit for a meal one evening per week, after which they can watch a film or take part in the school’s ‘Eco Club’ activities together.
It is hoped that this can be extended when coronavirus restrictions allow.
The donation from Gillies and Mackay will allow the club to run for five months and to provide the meals during winter.
Managing director at Gillies and Mackay Cara Mackay said: “As a seasonal business we traditionally hold a sale at G&M every December to help us survive the winter and cover our business costs in January.
“However this year, because of COVID-19 and people craving additional living space, we have been extremely lucky as a business to have generated enough cash flow to manage and invest in our wee company for the next five years.
“We know how extremely fortunate we are as a business to be in this position and wanted to find a local initiative who could benefit from all the profits of the sale this year.
“After speaking with Dundee Bairns and hearing about the
(From left) Nicola Crawford, Cara Mackay, Aaron Ramsay-King and Lewis Duncan from Gillies and Mackay and Genna Miller from Dundee Bairns heartfelt actions of Rowantree headmaster Gerry Munro we just knew that paying it forward was in some way a thank you, to both, for being the lifeline that so many families need.
“G&M employs 16 families, and ultimately family is at the heart of everything we do.
“It is devastating that charities like Dundee Bairns even have to exist but if we can make a difference by raising awareness of the amazing work they do and help set up the tea club at Rowantree Primary then we are delighted to do so; perhaps we could even encourage other thriving businesses to follow suit.”