Standard Life Aberdeen initiative aims to empower capital youngsters to make a difference

SLA, which is the principal funder of YPI in Edinburgh, is committed to a three-year partnership with the active citizenship programme which develops a host of life, learning and employment skills while raising awareness of social issues and channelling grants to local, grassroots charities.

Sandy McDonald, head of sustainability at SLA was a judge at Craigmount High School’s final where Ruby, Cara, Heather and Olivia secured the £3000 grant for Health in Mind. The funding will be used to enhance the provision of the anxiety and depression support groups in the city. He said:

“I was very impressed with the maturity, confidence and creativity shown by the young people at the final. The winning team really clearly communicated why mental health was so important to them, and how the money will make a tangible and lasting difference in the lives of the people who’ll benefit.

“With our headquarters in Edinburgh, it is vitally important to us that we invest in our wider community. YPI is a fantastic vehicle to do this by empowering that giving element to young people. The activity complements our wider commitment to amplifying youth voice and supporting employment, education and community initiatives.”

In addition to providing funding support, SLA has embarked on a mentoring programme with YPI participants team supporting the development of presentation and commercial skills.

Sandy added: “It was a great experience for our team mentoring the young people and we are committed to strengthening our in-school relationships which we hope will further enhance the skills development opportunities for the YPI pupils.”

YPI is the flagship programme of The Wood Foundation. It is active in more than 250 Scottish secondary schools and has empowered 175,000 young people to make a difference in their communities, channelling £4m of grants to grassroots, social issues charities.

An entire year group within a school is split into teams and tasked with researching with issues in their area and charities addressing those. Each team is then tasked with contacting its chosen charity and developing a creative and convincing presentation in a bid to secure the school’s £3000 YPI grant. 

Lynsey Brosnan, national coordinator of YPI, said: “The development of partnerships with likeminded funders is vitally important to the sustainability and growth of YPI. We always say that the YPI experience is about more than the monetary grant and we apply the same ethos to our funder relationships. The added value comes from bringing the school and funder together in a meaningful way. SLA is a great example of this partnership model.”

Other charities represented in the final were St Columba’s Hospice, Edinburgh Women’s Aid, Vintage Vibes, The Yard, Simpsons Special Care Babies and The Cookie Jar Foundation.

Philip McCluskey, YPI lead teacher at Craigmount High School, said: “This is our second year of YPI and I am incredibly proud of the what the pupils have achieved personally and on behalf of our local community.”

Sandy McDonald of SLA added: “We are committed to supporting initiatives which raise awareness of good citizenship and philanthropy amongst young people. YPI not only gives pupils the chance to independently explore different local charities, it gives opportunities to improve their research and presentation skills and team working. It allows the participants to find out more about the causes they care about and empowers them to effect change. We are delighted to be supporting this initiative.”