Supporting Disadvantaged Scottish Schoolkids

At Blake, we love to give back through charitable giving.

Education is a cause very close to our hearts, and we are committed to supporting the younger generation through our ‘Giving Hope Through Education’ programme, because we believe that this is something that can have an immeasurable effect on a child’s future.

During February 2019, we donated a sum of £500 to MCR Pathways, a Glasgow based charity which was nominated by Dario, our Regional Account Manager at our Edinburgh hub.

Dario handing the cheque to Sandy Wood, National Plan Manager at MCR Pathways (above)

Here Dario gives us an overview of the work that this charity does, and the role that he will be taking on in supporting the charity:

“MCR Pathways is a school-based mentoring programme, offering support for those in or on the edges of the care system, enabling them to realise their full potential through education. MCR recruit, train and match volunteer mentors with young people. The charity was founded by Iain MacRitchie, a social entrepreneur, who identified a need to support disadvantaged young people in Glasgow.

“The charity began in St Andrew’s Secondary, an East End Glasgow school, where they developed the programme over 5 years. It very quickly became evident that MCR mentoring made a huge difference on the confidence and engagement of young people in school. They therefore went on to expand across all Glasgow secondaries, and are now expanding into new Local Authorities across Scotland, including Edinburgh. Their vision is for every care-experienced and disadvantaged young person in Scotland to get the same education outcomes, career opportunities and life chances as every other young person.

“After hearing about their work through a friend, I attended an information session and signed up to become a mentor. In December I completed the training and have recently also completed the background checks, and should soon be matched with a young person.

“I’m thoroughly looking forward to getting started and helping my young person to develop confidence and self-esteem, transforming their education and career outcomes!”

To find out more about this charity, visit their website here.