The Papple Steading Digital Media Prize
We are delighted to welcome East Lothian’s Papple Steading (founded by serial entrepreneur George Mackintosh) to the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ donor community.
The Papple Steading Digital Media Prize brings together Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ students and recent alumni, from a range of disciplines, to create and produce engaging digital media which celebrates agricultural and food heritage in the Lothians.
In its first year, two multidisciplinary groups of students were awarded £4,500 each to produce digital content for the heritage centre at Papple Steading. The winners have produced two incredible short films - one explores the history of oats with local schoolchildren, and the other takes us back to the mid-1800’s to hear from characters on the farm.
STV Children’s Appeal and a local family trust
When we talk about donors making an immediate impact, we have to mention the STV Children’s Appeal and a local family trust.
During 2020, thanks to these donors, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ launched the pioneering Enhanced Learning Tutoring Initiative. After such a successful project, further donations, totalling £280k, has extended the project and impact. With this, the project is currently supporting over 300 young people in S4-S6 in both East Lothian and Midlothian throughout the 21/22 school year.
Find out more about the initiative and what it is like to be a tutor
The Wooden Spoon Foundation
We'd like to say a massive thank you to the Wooden Spoon Foundation for its incredible donation of £20,000 to support Scotland’s first ever Frame Running equipment hub.
Frame Running allows people who are not able to run functionally, and may have limited or no ability to walk independently, to engage in an activity where they can propel themselves using a running bike. Research at Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ has been pivotal in bringing Frame Running to the forefront of parasports. This research has now allowed Frame Running to be included in European and World Para Athletics championships and to be added to the provisional list for the 2024 Paralympics in Paris.
Support from the Wooden Spoon Foundation will create an equipment hub that will support children and young people, with limited mobility to access frame equipment, become mobile and gain independence through sport. This, in turn, will help build the pathway for Scotland to continue to nurture leading international athletes in Frame Running.
Santander summer bursaries
Once again, Santander, has found new ways to support our students during the pandemic.
The summer of 2021 was another difficult period – many seasonal jobs that would normally allow students to earn enough to return to study in September, had simply vanished.
Thanks to the support of Santander, we managed to offer a new summer bursary scheme, supporting those who were most negatively impacted by the pandemic and at risk of being unable to pay their bills and living costs during the summer period.
Beya Thomson, Public Sociology graduate and Summer Bursaries’ recipient, said: “The Summer Bursary was a life saver for me and I’m so grateful for the help and support that it provided me with. I was really struggling with personal difficulties. My studies had to be extended due to the pandemic and, as a result, I had to finish my course work over the summer. The Summer Bursary helped me meet the needs of my three children and complete my honour’s degree, achieving a 2:1! Without it, I would have been unable to graduate in 2021 and may never have completed my degree."
