Established in 2009 by Knight Property Group Founder and Chairman James Barrack, major beneficiaries this time around include children’s charities Seamab and HopScotch.
Seamab, a charity based in Perth and Kinross, offers residential care and education for some of Scotland’s most vulnerable children, by providing a variety of intensive support, with a particular focus on inspiring young people to experience adventures in learning and life. The charity has received £10,000 funding from the Trust to help support the development of a new school.
Stuart Provan, Chief Executive of Seamab said:
“Everyone at Seamab is so grateful to The Barrack Charitable Trust for their generous donation. Their donation will go towards the building of our new school. Our current school is a dated residential building where pupils don’t have access to a gym hall and the classrooms are former bedrooms which aren’t big enough.
“Our children have experienced a traumatic start to life, and our new school will be a purpose-built facility where they can learn and develop in a safe, secure and caring environment to take positive steps in their futures.”
HopScotch Children’s Charity, which aims to provide respite breaks for around 400 vulnerable and disadvantaged children at Ardvullin holiday centre, near Fort William from May to September. The children come from all over Scotland to experience a nurturing and dynamic holiday week, which brings wonderful memories. The £4,200 support from Trust will fund a week break for 12 children.
Roberta McKay, Manager of HopScotch said:
“The Barrack Charitable Trust has been a generous supporter of our work in providing free respite breaks for children living in difficult circumstances, and it is thanks to their support we can offer 12 children the chance to experience a HopScotch break this year.
“These young people have never or rarely left their home area due to their family circumstances, impacting their confidence and self-esteem. Many suffer due to parental health issues, substance misuse or domestic abuse, so the opportunity to have a break where they can be children without the worries and responsibilities of daily life is of tremendous benefit to them. The children, accompanied by carers, work closely with HopScotch’s activity leader throughout their respite break. Offering this memory-making holiday at Ardvullin gives the young people a real break from their challenging and stressful home environments.”
James Barrack said:
“We are truly humbled by the work undertaken by all the charities and grateful that we are able to offer support. Seamab and HopScotch are providing valuable and much-needed services to some of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable children in Scotland and we are proud to support them.”
Other charities being supported around the country in this tranche include:
- The Ayr Ark youth project, which has received £5,000 to go towards the youth drop-in centre at the Citadel and secondary school mentoring programme.
- Bethany Christian Trust has received £5,000, to support members of the community who are vulnerable to homelessness in Aberdeen.
- The School Bank in West Lothian has received £3,500 to provide school uniforms for children within families who may be struggling financially.
- Baillieston Community Care in Glasgow has received £4,528 to help deliver a new drop-in dementia café, to offer support to people living with learning disabilities, physical disabilities and Alzheimer’s disease.
The Trust is solely supported and funded by Knight Property Group. It aims to assist organisations cope with the decrease in charitable donations for specific projects due to the economic climate faced at the time. Over the years, the Trust has donated more than £1.2m to over 200 registered charities throughout Scotland.
The full list of charities supported in this tranche are:
| CHARITY NAME | WEBSITE | AMOUNT |
| Seamab Care & Education, Kinross | www.seamab.org.uk | £10,000 |
| The Ayr Ark, Ayr | www.ayrark.co.uk | £5,000 |
| Bethany Christian Trust | www.bethanychristiantrust.com | £5,000 |
| Baillieston Community Care, Glasgow | www.bailliestoncommunitycare.co.uk | £4,528 |
| HopScotch Children’s Charity | www.hopscotch-charity.org | £4,200 |
| Sunshine Wishes Children’s Charity, Glasgow | www.sunshinewisheschildrenscharity.com | £3,543 |
| The School Bank, West Lothian | www.schoolbank-westlothian.org | £3,500 |
| Edinburgh Headway Group | www.edinburghheadway.org.uk | £2,500 |
| Dundonnell Mountain Rescue Team SCIO | www.dmrt.org.uk | £2,457 |
| University of the West of Scotland (UWS), Paisley | www.uws.ac.uk | £1,500 |
| Volunteering Hebrides, Stornoway | www.thirdsectorhebrides.org.uk | £1,000 |
| Trellis Scotland, Perth | www.trellisscotland.org.uk | £1,000 |
| The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice, Glasgow | www.princeandprincessofwaleshospice.org.uk | £1,000 |
| St. Vincent’s Hospice Ltd, Paisley | www.stvincentshospice.org | £1,000 |
| Portpatrick Community Development Trust | www.pcdt.scot | £1,000 |
| Pathfinder Guide Dog Programme, Lanarkshire | www.pathfinderdogs.org | £1,000 |
| Leuchie House, North Berwick | www.leuchiehouse.org.uk | £ 986.74 |
| MacTaggart Scott (Loanhead) Band | www.loanheadbrass.org.uk | £189.95 |
