Charitable Lossie high school pupils donate £3000 to Scottish Association for Mental Health
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A MENTAL health charity has been given a funding boost by philanthropic second year students from Lossiemouth High School.
The Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH) was given a four figure donation from pupils Heather Manisty, Layla Halliwell, Abby Campbell, Eilidh Regan and Jasmine Grant.
The grant was funded by The Wood Foundation's Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI), which empowers students to make in difference in their community and develop new skills through engagement with local charities. The programme saw all second year students at the school compete to win a £3000 donation for their chosen charity.
The pupils, who are passionate about mental health, championed their cause through research and teamwork before confidently presenting their winning case to the judges.
The programme has also inspired the students to continue their charitable efforts outside of the classroom, by completing a sponsored walk to further fund raise for the organisation.
Paul Ferrier, Lossie High School's RME & Philosophy teacher praised the benefits of participating in the project for pupils: "Throughout the project, I’ve seen the S2 pupils develop a range of skills.
"They’ve developed their ability to write professional emails and make professional phone calls. They’ve also developed their ability to work with adults on a project which has real consequences.
"They’ve shown they can work effectively as a team, assigning roles and responsibilities to each member. They’ve developed their digital skills by using PowerPoint and formatting documents and emails.
Lastly, they’ve developed their communication and presentation skills by spending time considering what the most appropriate way to make the case for their charity’s cause is. "
Since the programme was introduced to Scotland in 2008, it has engaged more than 230,000 young people who have taken responsibility for £5million of charitable giving.
The programme also helps to raise awareness of social issues and local charities and is an important resource for young people to get involved in their community.
Mr Ferrier, added: "YPI is important for the pupils because they’ve been able to understand a social issue which directly affects the local community. Not only that, but they’ve been able to address this social issue by working with a charity which concerns itself with it. The £3000 is a real reward which will have a real impact on the local community."
