STV Children’s Appeal, National Partner of YPI in Scotland, has invested almost a quarter of a million pounds in young people advocating for social change.

The Appeal has been involved with the active citizenship programme for eight years, providing 80 grants to small, grassroots charities championed by young people.

Lynn Hendry, Director of STV Children’s Appeal, said:

“YPI forms an important part of our annual giving. STV Children’s Appeal is focussed on supporting young people affected by poverty throughout Scotland. We work with many hundreds of small charities throughout the country. The piece of the puzzle that YPI offers us is the opportunity for young people to directly represent the issues they see as important and the communities in which they live. Many of whom have helped them and others in their community.

“The charities we have been able to fund through our partnership with YPI are often less visible to us a funder or they have a lower profile owing to their size and income levels  They simply don’t have the means to profile their work, and in many cases their interests lie solely with those they seek to serve. Reflecting on recent events, it has so often been those small, local charities who have led on the local response to supporting communities affected by Covid-19. Young people advocating and campaigning on behalf of these organisations is so very important.”

STV Children’s Appeal is one of the likeminded partners which supports the sustainability and growth of YPI across each of Scotland’s 32 local authorities. The curriculum-based programme has empowered 200,000 young people who have channelled £4.5m to Scotland’s charities since 2008.

Jonathan Christie, Deputy UK Director at The Wood Foundation, said:

“The longstanding relationship with STV Children’s Appeal has been incredibly important for the national expansion, sustainability, and embedding of YPI nationally. Likeminded partners, focussed upon youth empowerment and context-driven given, are a vital piece of the YPI puzzle.

“YPI offers a methodology for grant making which remains innovative, whereby we entrust authentic responsibility to young people, empower them to research the social issues they care most passionately about, and bring to life their research, concern and compassion for their local community through a rich learning experience.”