NINE charities across Scotland will share a £1.2 million funding pot from the ScottishPower Foundation, which champions benevolent work in local communities across the country.
Among the recipients is the Dynamic Earth Charitable Trust, which has been awarded over £86,500 towards the creation of a new, state-of-the-art planetarium.
The funding will also help create a mobile planetarium programme which will visit schools and remote areas to teach them about the planet and its history.
Other charities in Scotland that will benefit from the funding include the Bumblebee Conservation Trust which is working to safeguard threatened populations of one of the UK’s rarest bumblebees, the Great Yellow bumblebee; Youth Connections whose ‘Change Yer Tune’ programme in Greenock will help children form friendships and build confidence in some of Scotland’s most disadvantaged communities; Starcatchers which will inspire children living in kinship care in South Ayrshire through art; and Sporting Memories Foundation Scotland which will help older people to improve their strength and balance through physical exercise, enhancing their wellbeing and prolonging independent living.
Meanwhile, Changing Faces will deliver its national ‘Pledge to be Seen’ campaign, a programme to help change attitudes towards those living with visible differences; National Theatre of Scotland will use funds to create a nationwide programme focusing on the theme of care; Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Scotland will employ support workers to provide guidance to families with children transitioning into school or nursery; and RSPB Scotland will deliver a new project to help the declining population of swifts in Edinburgh and beyond.
Melanie Hill, executive officer and trustee at the ScottishPower Foundation, said: “We recognise that now, more than ever, people are relying on charities and their services and we’re very proud to support these efforts in such a meaningful way.”
John Simpson, Dynamic Earth CEO, said: “Thanks to the very generous support from the ScottishPower Foundation and other key supporters and sponsors, we’ve almost reached our funding target for the project.
“This means that we’re now in a position to get started and we are very excited to see this launching at the centre later this year.”
