News Items

Posted 6 Feb 2023

A pair of north-east army adveterans are preparing a mammoth coast to coast walk to raise funds for charity. 

Scott Milne and Steve Beedie will be trekking 217 miles over ten days from Ardnamurchan Lighthouse on the west coast of Scotland to Boddam Lighthouse on the east coast. 

The pair will be wild camping every night and are aiming to raise funds for the war veterans charity Erskine and to raise awareness for suicide prevention as they believe there "simply isn't enough being done in both these causes." 

Steve, who says he had his life 'ripped' apart by PTSD before getting help himself in 2007, says supporting veterans makes a real difference. 

"I was made homeless, out of work and crippled with debt, illness, depression and a black cloud hanging over me. I needed a way through the hurt, he wrote.

"I found a sense of purpose in giving back; helping others through the hard times filled my heart with goodness. Becoming a veteran is hard, harder than many admit. But for those of us who can, it really is a must. 

"We must stand together now more than ever to do what is possible, what is necessary to work alongside our armed forces community to better one another's experience of gaining back the ground in life after trauma and mental health impacts us."

Scott, who teaches and trains at Kingswells Amateur Boxing Club, added: "We both have our own struggles but try our best to do our best in life despite the lack of support, due to this we've decided to take on the mammoth task, of walking across Scotland." 

He believes the challenge will bring out a mixture of "tears, tantrums, laughter, and emotions." 

The two men plan to begin their journey on August 26 and hope to raise £1,500 for Erskine. They will spend the months leading up to it preparing for the epic challenge.

POSTED FROM :  AberdeenLive website

Written By Thomas Durham.

https://www.aberdeenlive.news/news/aberdeen-news/north-east-veterans-undertake-mammoth-8099430

Posted 6 Feb 2023

Pounds for Primaries is back – with £15,000 to share between north-east schools

The schools that collect the most tokens from the Evening Express can win thousands.

There’s £15,000 in the Pounds for Primaries prize fund, thanks to your amazing performances at our annual Christmas Concert.

Registration is now open for Pounds for Primaries 2023.

Schools and parent councils can sign up now and start collecting tokens from the Evening Express from Saturday 4 February to Saturday 4 March.

In our last giveaway, three Aberdeen schools won thousands, and many more won smaller amounts.

How Pounds for Primaries can help your school

There are hundreds of schools in our circulation area. We know – and we’re sure you do too – these schools face a real struggle to secure funding to support their amazing work.

That’s where Pounds for Primaries 2023 can help.

We’ve already supported some fantastic projects at schools like yours.

In 2021, Kingswells Primary School, Quarryhill Primary School and Charleston School were the big winners.

But schools across the north-east also won a share of the prize fund, giving them a little extra Christmas treat.

Kingswells in Aberdeen topped the largest tiered school category, winning a £2,500 cash prize.

The win came as a surprise to head teacher Moira MacIver, who didn’t expect the school to collect as many tokens as it did. She said she was “completely overwhelmed” by the support of the whole school community.

Kingswells planned to spend the money on outdoor learning resources for pupils.

Over at Quarryhill in Aberdeen, the primary school didn’t have any plans on how to spend their £1,500 – because they were so surprised to win!

And topping the third tier category with a £1,000 prize was Charleston School in Aberdeen. Head teacher Anna Cartlidge said they’d use the money to transform the pupils’ playground.

Winning the big prizes

Evening Express editor Craig Walker says Pounds for Primaries has made a huge difference to north-east schools since its launch in 2021.

The prize fund is made up of ticket sales from our fantastic annual Evening Express Christmas Concert.

Pounds for Primaries is open to all primary schools and their attached nurseries in the Evening Express circulation area.

Every school which collects 250 or more will get at least £100.

And the three schools that collect the most in their category – based on the size of their school roll – will win the big prizes.

This year’s competition is sponsored by Bounty Competitions, run by Leanne and Calvin Davidson.

Leanne said: “We are really excited to be sponsoring Pounds for Primaries. This is a really great thing that The Evening Express is doing and we hope that what we’ve sponsored is going to be able to make a difference.”

In just three years in business, Bounty Competitions has donated more than £250,000 to local charities, Calvin said.

“We still are quite young and continue to thrive and give back as much as we can.”

Whatever your school wants to spend the money on, this is your opportunity to work together to win some funds.

Registration for schools and parent councils opens today and you can start collecting tokens from Saturday 4 February until Saturday 5 March.

To register, visit www.pressandjournal.co.uk/poundsforprimaries

POSTED FROM Press & Journal 

Written by Nicola Sinclair

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/education/schools/5355523/pounds-for-primaries-is-back-with-15000-to-share-between-north-east-schools/