TWO dozen pupils from a primary school in one of Glasgow’s most impoverished areas will be going on a residential trip next year after local family firm Allied Vehicles stepped in to save the day.
Allied Vehicles Charitable Trust donated £3,000 to the Parents Council (PC) for Saracen Primary in Possilpark, where the company is headquartered.
It means P7 pupils will be able to go to the Blairvadach Outdoor Centre near Helensburgh for a week-long stay before they head for secondary schools.
Christine Dempster, from the PC contacted Allied’s charity arm after the school was told it could cost around £6,000 for the trip.
“We are trying to support our school to make the pupils educational experiences better,” said Christine.
“The previous P7 class last year sadly missed out on their residential trip due to Covid and we believe it’s a crucial part of primary school. The activities will help the pupils bond and will play a useful part in their mental health after the whole Covid scenario.
“As you will be aware, everyone is being impacted financially due to the cost-of-living crisis so we, as a school, feel that it wouldn’t be feasible to ask parents to pay the cost of the residential week.
“We are trying our best to raise as much funds as possible … and we want the residential week to be accessible to all P7 pupils regardless of their circumstances.”
The Trust was established in January to donate £10,000 every month to charities and good causes and has just passed the £100,000 milestone.
David Facenna, Allied Vehicles Corporate Culture Director, said the Trust’s priorities were helping charities in and around north Glasgow, but they have also donated to a variety of causes further afield.
He said: “When the cost of living is rising like it has been recently it’s difficult for many parents to put food on the table, let alone pay for residential trips like this, which are a vital leg of their youngsters’ educational journey.
“The Allied staff committee who decide which causes to support had no hesitation in recommending that the Saracen pupils should be given funding for Blairvadach and I’m only happy that we were able to help.”
Christine added: “Thank you so much … to the charity committee at Allied Vehicles for your generosity and kindness. Thanks to you all we can afford to send 24 excited P7 pupils to their residential week at Blairvadach, where we are positive they will make memories which will last a lifetime, before leaving to go to secondary school.
“It has meant the world to me and our school that Allied are able to donate towards our P7s’ residential trip – we definitely weren’t expecting the donation to be of such a large sum either, which was a pleasant surprise.
“I am overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity shown by the Trust. The donation will also be beneficial to our school as we won’t need to use as much school funding to finance the trips which means not only will the Primary 7s benefit, but also pupils and staff as the money saved can now go towards school supplies, staffing, and so on.”
