The Youth and Philanthropy Initiative sees youngsters fund charities which they believe can boost their local community

Youngsters have been playing the role of philanthropists by securing grants for charities.

The Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) has seen around 30,000 Scottish school pupils allocate £690,000 to charities across the country during the academic year 2017/18.

Through the project, young people from across a school year group work in small teams to actively research and understand the big social issues that affect their local community.

In each school, the programme culminates with a grand final where the best teams compete against one another to secure a £3,000 grant for their chosen local charity.

In Glasgow, 18 schools have been taking part, which will result in £54,000 being allocated to local charities. The project has been supported by Scottish Equity Partners (SEP) and The Wood Foundation.

Last week, Hutcheson’s Grammar School hosted its 2018 YPI Final which saw the recently rebranded Glasgow’s Golden Generation, a charity with a 70-year history in Glasgow focused on alleviating loneliness and isolation for senior citizens across the city pick up the main award.

Lynsey Neilson, partnership manager at Glasgow’s Golden Generation said: "The team showcased precisely how young people can actively support and enrich the work of local charities, and play such a positive role within their local community. The funding secured will now allow us to purchase a long-needed minibus to support our service users for many years to come.”

Sir Ian Wood, Chairman of The Wood Foundation said: “Over the last 10 years we have established a number of strong partnerships with likeminded funding partners who support programme growth and sustainability, and we look forward to working closely alongside the team at SEP.”