Children's 1st and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland have marked a decade long relationship with the People’s Postcode Lottery
Two very different Scottish charities have joined forces to celebrate some special anniversaries.
People’s Postcode Lottery ambassador Judie McCourt and a group of youngsters were full of smiles as they joined some of Edinburgh Zoo’s favourite inhabitants to thank the players of People’s Postcode Lottery for their long-term support for Children 1st, Scotland’s national children’s charity and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS).
The celebration marks 10 years since People’s Postcode Lottery players started raising money for Children 1st and five years since they started raising money for the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, the conservation charity that owns Edinburgh Zoo and Highland Wildlife Park.
In total players of People’s Postcode Lottery have raised more than £6.8m for the two charities combined. Judie McCourt met the animals with children from Chirnsyde Primary School in Glasgow, where Children 1st has been supporting pupils to develop communication skills, confidence and resilience.
Linda Jardine, director of children and families services at Children 1st, said: “Thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery for changing the lives of thousands of children across Scotland over the past ten years.
“Their support has prevented and protected children and their families from traumatic experiences, including poverty, loss and abuse. They have also helped children and their families to recover from their experiences to be safer and happier and for families to be stronger and more resilient.”
Barbara Smith, chief executive of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, said: “We’re incredibly grateful to players of People’s Postcode Lottery whose support over the past five years has made a huge range of conservation and research projects possible. With their support, we’ve helped native species here in Scotland, conducted vital genetic research and provided important educational experiences for our visitors. Hopefully we’ve inspired the children who joined us to get connected to nature and help us to safeguard species from extinction in the future.”
McCourt said: “Both of these fantastic charities have reached an incredible milestone on their journey with players of People’s Postcode Lottery and I’m thrilled to help mark the occasion at Edinburgh Zoo today. It’s been really great to learn more about the difference that support from players has made to the lives of children and animals who these charities work so hard for.”
Across Britain players of People’s Postcode Lottery have raised more than £330million since the lottery started in Scotland in 2005.
