Clare Gibson
A Big Stroll for The WHY Project
Fundraising for The WHY Project
Story
Hey!
I'm taking on the Big Stroll as part of this year's Kiltwalk to raise money for The WHY Project.
Some of you may be wondering what The WHY Project is and how I'm connected. The WHY Project is a youth organisation based in Wester Hailes and was set up by two inspiring youth workers - Sabrina and Kevin ( and no,they didn't pay me to say that 😉).
Sabrina & Kevin had a vision to create 'wee havens' in the community so that young people in the local area had somewhere safe to go where they could meet friends, take part in activities and also have access to free food. 6 years in and there is more demand that ever before for these vital grass roots youth work services, and in a challenging funding landscape every penny counts.
Where do I fit in? Well, in a nutshell, for the past 4 years I've been volunteering as a trustee, and for the 3 years as Chairperson of their board. Apparently completing a kiltwalk is a requirement of tenure in the Board? That's what they told me anyway.......
Any donation you can spare will mean the world to me and my chosen charity.
The WHY Project is a youth work charity based in South West Edinburgh. We work with young people of high school age in Edinburgh, 6 days per week, running 10 regular groups for approximately 120 young people. We deliver youth clubs, Saturday breakfast/lunch club, holiday programmes, hot food and signposting support for families. Our ‘Wee Haven Youth Clubs’ in local community centres and we create safe spaces for young people, with a home away from home feel, warm, comfortable, relaxing. There are a wide range of activities on offer, including sports, pool, table tennis, arts and crafts, computer games, cooking. Alongside this we run topical and education workshops around key issues; sexual health, drugs and alcohol, mental health, bullying, racism, social media. Furthermore, there are opportunities for learning new skills and gaining formal accreditation through awards programmes. Additionally we run holiday programmes for young people and their which include trips, activities and experiences that would otherwise be difficult to afford; including country parks, beach, zoo, funfair, bowling etc. Although most of our general provision is targeted at young people, we believe providing these weekly day trips for the whole family to enjoy, including parents and children of all ages, impact directly on the wellbeing of the young people we work with.