Inverclyde Academy secures funding for Action for Children

YPI is supported by CalMac as a local funding partner.

Kai Stone, Jess Percival, Julie Haughey, Abbie Smith & Grace Halliday from the Greenock school profiled the work of Action for Children, highlighting the role of the service within the community. The young participants picked Action for Children because it meant a lot to them - they have Action for Children workers who support them through school and several of them took part in Action for Children's Blues Programme. This was especially important for them in recovering from lockdown. The money will be used by Action for Children to run more groups in schools and to organise day trips for children.

YPI is an active citizenship programme which empowers young people to make a difference in their community about causes which they care about deeply. Through a unique programme of teamwork, research and competition, an entire year group takes part, and one team is chosen to secure the grant.

CalMac's regional support of YPI sees it partner with 10 schools including the Inverclyde Academy and St Columba's. CalMac colleagues act as judges at school's finals, as well as offering mentoring support to the young people involved in the programme.

David Hamill, Project Manager for CalMac, said: "Having the opportunity to judge the final at Inverclyde Academy was an honour. All the teams that took part did excellently, the passion for their chosen causes shone through in their presentations. It was eye opening to see some of the social issues that affect today's teenagers, yet inspiring to see how local organisations were stepping in to help. This award will make a big difference to Action for Children and I'm proud to have been able to present it on behalf of CalMac."

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."

Lucia Giuntoli, YPI Partnerships Manager, said: "Since 2019, our partnership with CalMac has allowed young people to advocate for social issues they are passionate about supporting in the local area. The support from CalMac as an engaged funding partner to our programme has been very important. Congratulations to the young people at Inverclyde Academy who impressed our team and the judges with their creativity, teamwork, and understanding of their skills development. They are wonderful advocates of #generationchange."

More than 250 schools in Scotland will complete YPI this academic year. Since it was launched in Scotland by The Wood Foundation in 2008 it has empowered more than 230,000 young people to make a difference in their communities, granting more than £5m to local charities addressing a range of social issues.