On Wednesday afternoon, SII gathered in the Senior School Hall for the final of this year's Youth Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) competition, where four teams battled it out to win £3,000 (£500 of which was raised by SII themselves) for their chosen charity.
According to the
YPI website, since it was introduced to Scotland in 2008 by
The Wood Foundation, YPI has engaged more than 270,000 young people who have taken responsibility for £6m of charitable giving. St Columba's has been taking part in YPI for the past decade, and it is now fully embedded in the SII PSE curriculum.
Pupils in SII were given the opportunity to research a local charity and, following an initial round of presentations during their PSE lessons, one team was chosen from each House to take part in the final in front of our panel of judges. The teams visited their chosen charities to learn more about the work they do and what winning £3,000 would mean for them.
We were joined for the final by representatives from some of the chosen charities, as well as our local YPI facilitator, Alistair Cairns, who we have worked with for a number of years. We are, as always, incredibly grateful to Alistair for all the support he has provided.
Alistair was on hand to provide guidance and assistance to our judging panel - Mrs Vicky Reilly, Mr David Girdwood, Head Boy Matthew H and Head Girl Anna T.
Craigmarloch - representing
ROAR
Alex L, Kyle G, Anna R and Ava H were first up to present on their chosen charity ROAR. This Johnstone-based charity aims to empower older adults to remain active and independent through a range of projects including their befriending scheme, toe nail clinics and classes. The team talked about the benefits of these projects, as well as how it had made them think about the older people in their lives.
Kilallan - representing
Your Voice, Inverclyde Recovery Hub
Up next were the team from Kilallan - Ivan B, Blake H, Maya S and Rebecca W - who were championing the work of the Recovery Hub. Part of Your Voice Inverclyde, the Recovery Hub supports those who are struggling with drug and alcohol addiction to break the cycle of addiction and access the help that they so desperately need. The team spent time researching the statistics around drug and alcohol abuse in Scotland and were shocked to discover the extent of the problem, especially on their own doorstep.
Strathgryffe - representing
The Haven
The team from Strathgryffe - Samuel A, Alex I, Ben M, Carrick T - were also looking at the issue of Drug and Alcohol addiction in their presentation, this time championing the work of The Haven in Kilmacolm. Using a series of creative animations, they detailed what the experience for the residents of The Haven is like and how this can help them in their struggle with addiction.
Duchal - representing
Jubilee House
Last up was the Duchal team - Tara H, Olivia D, Olivia M, Anastazja M, Lauren M - who were pitching for Jubilee House, a domestic abuse charity based in Paisley which offers education and support to women living in abusive relationships to empower them to get out of the situation they have found themselves in. The charity also aims to teach young people about the warning signs of domestic violence. The team were shocked to learn about the prevalence of domestic violence and were keen to help the charity in its aims.
Following the presentations, the judges retired to decide which of the teams had advocated most convincingly for their charity. While they were deliberating, the audience was entertained by Mr Bruce and a Mini Pipe Band made up of SII pupils.
It was then time to announce the winning team...
DUCHAL and their charity
JUBILEE HOUSE!
Many congratulations to Jubilee House. We hope that the £3,000 goes some way to supporting the amazing work that you do.