CGS star pupils secure £3,000 for local charity

Budding philanthropists from Campbeltown Grammar School are celebrating after their top presentation skills won £3,000 for local charity, the Mairi Semple Fund.

The team from S3 used their talents to research and promote the work of the charity thanks to a partnership between CalMac and The Wood Foundation's Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI).

The YPI scheme is an active citizenship programme that encourages young people to make a difference in their local communities while developing important life skills, with mentoring support from CalMac employees.

Pupils from participating schools form teams to research social issues in their area and the charities working to address them. They then make a case for their chosen charity as to why they should receive a £3,000 grant to help with their work.

All of the teams at the Grammar identified a local charity, researched their work, then created videos and presentations. Staff from CalMac worked with the pupils to help them develop their research and presentation skills, while other staff sat on the judging panel for the final.

The other finalists taking part in Campbeltown worked with Scotland's Charity Air Ambulance (health) the Kintyre Link Club (mental health and isolation), Shopper Aide (elderly and isolation), and Argyll & Bute Women's Aid (domestic abuse).

All of the presentations were of a high standard and judges were impressed with the level of work each group had put into the project.

CalMac staff who were involved in either mentoring or judging the entries were Euan Stout, Alex Hunter and Fiona Borland.

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."

Alex Reid, YPIs National Coordinator, added: "Congratulations to Campbeltown Grammar's winning team for securing funds for the Mairi Semple Fund. We thank CalMac for their continued support in empowering young people to lead change."

"YPI is all about empowering and engaging young people to understand their role within their community and the ways in which they can make a difference while developing their own personal life skills."

For further information, please contact CalMac's External Communications Manager Fiona Borland on 07785 926 485 or by emailing fiona.borland@calmac.co.uk

About CalMac

CalMac is the UK's largest ferry operator, running 29 routes to over 50 destinations, across 200 miles of Scotland's west coast. Our fleet of 33 vessels complete approximately 136,000 sailings a year with crossings ranging from five minutes to seven hours. CalMac provides an everyday lifeline service to west coast communities, and for tourism, we play a critical role in enabling its development, which is hugely important for the area's economy.

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