New Jobs Created as Charity Secures £1m

An educational charity based in Cupar has recently received nearly £1 million in funding to help expand its activities 

Character Scotland, a charity aiming to support the development of children and young people’s character and values by working with schools and partner organisations, has received significant funding to help contribute to projects. With a grant from the John Templeton Foundation, the Cupar-based charity has been able to employ six new recruits, two of whom are working towards an apprenticeship. The funding will also substantially support the Commonwealth-wide project “Global Citizens in the Making” which is already underway.

Chief Executive David Lorimer is excited about the opportunities the funding will provide: “It is a great chance for young people to get involved in our new programme through schools. Our current Olympic and Paralympic values programme has reached over 75,000 youngsters in the last three years, and we expect similar numbers to be involved in Global Citizens in the Making, which is focused on the tremendous opportunity provided by Glasgow 2014.” . Local MP Roderick Campbell has also shown his appreciation for the work accomplished by the charity encouraging youngsters having this to say; “The work of Character Scotland in Cupar has always been very positive and I am delighted to see that this significant investment has created jobs and helped to further increase employment in the area. Increasing youth employment is a key priority for the Scottish Government, and it is encouraging to see new opportunities being created in the town. I am certain that the new staff will complement those already in place and help the charity to achieve its ambitions”.

This year, children and young people have been asked to say who inspired them at London 2012. Top of the list are Jessica Ennis, Usain Bolt, Sir Chris Hoy, Mo Farah, Tom Daley and Ellie Simmonds. Former Olympics Minister Dame Tessa Jowell MP said of the current project: “It is hard to imagine a programme that captures more precisely the spirit of the Olympics than Inspire-Aspire. It was a privilege to present the awards and to be reminded of the extraordinary talent waiting to be unleashed in our young people.”

Alongside the work with schools, the charity is also forming a brand new Think Tank called the Character Development Partnership. This exciting, fresh and potentially game-changing initiative will bring key people and organisations together to share practice, debate and tackle some of the key challenges faced by children and young people in society. The members will represent a diverse range of disciplines and settings including education, youth work, academia, business, community-based, public and third sector.

The partnership aims to provide leadership for the Character Development agenda in Scotland, to influence practice and policy at the highest levels and to result in more character development opportunities for children and young people.

Together, the two strands of work of the charity aim to inspire children and young people and to transform their inspiration into aspiration.

Notes to Editor

Please contact Stephanie Powell, Trainee Communications Executive on 01334 844900, 0790 881 5259 or stephanie.powell@character-scotland.org.uk for more information.

Other High Resolution photo’s available on request.