Youth Philanthropy Initiative Scotland or YPI Scotland is a scheme introduced in Scotland by The Wood Foundation in 2008. The initiative has engaged over 200,000 young people in Scotland and given almost £4.5million to charity. In YPI, high school children across Scotland compete in their schools for £3000 to their chose charity. YPI aims to help children learn skills in teamwork, research, gives confidence and competition.

The programme raises awareness to high school children about issues faced by local charities. This gives these kids education on local social issues and a contextualised learning experience.

YPI Scotland’s current campaign is ‘YPI Empowers #GenerationChange’ citing to the fact that this challenge gives children great experiences that can help change their lives to change the world.

YPI competitions first began at Greenfaulds five years ago and have continued to run every year since. They serve to empower young people by inspiring them to get out and make a difference in their communities. It’s a pretty popular and busy competition, with around 250 pupils choosing to take part each year. In order to gain a greater inside into the world of YPI, we interviewed former contestant and winner of the competition S6 pupil Shanlay Russell.

 

Us: Did you enjoy the experience?

 

Shanlay: YPI was one of the best experiences I have ever had. It is an amazing opportunity within the school to really get involved and be a part of something much bigger than yourself. I saw it as a chance to really push myself out of my comfort zone and build on my skills.

 

Do you think the competition is effective in inspiring young people to make a difference in their community?

 

Yes. Definitely! I think if you view it as a competition then you are taking the wrong approach, it is

important to see the bigger picture and understand that you are taking part to help and support a

charity. It is an opportunity to gain a greater awareness of those in need around you and how you can help them in any way which you may not have known about before. YPI creates strong relationships between the charities and the individuals involved which is an amazing thing.

 

What skills have you gained from the YPI competition?

 

YPI really improved my confidence, believe it or not I used to be shy but during YPI I spoke In front of hundreds or familiar faces and strangers which was absolutely terrifying but amazing and thrilling at the same time. This has made me take part in so many more things confidence no longer seats me back. Additionally, this opportunity allowed me to effectively work in a team to plan and create our presentation as well as contact the charity and maintain that connection. It was a really independent activity from what we are used to in second year but that let me stand on my own two feet and win the ‘competition’ because we were motivated to win, not for ourselves but for the charity who were extremely grateful. After doing our research and meeting with Helen Bruce from the hospice we were compelled and touched by the outstanding services they provide mostly through donations.

 

Would you participate again?

 

I would take part in this every year if I could, if that answers your question. I would encourage everyone to take not only participate but to really take full advantage of the experience and absorb it. As cliché as it sounds it really changed my life, before I wanted to do charity work, but I didn’t know how and now lead the social justice committee which is full of like- minded people. I am still in touch with the charity and do what I can for them, and I want to inspire other to do the same.

 

Through exploring Shanlay’s experience, it’s clear that the YPI competition touches the hearts of everyone involved and does exactly what it sets out to do – inspire. Organisations such as YPI serve as a reminder that there are still ways to make impactful change in our communities which is why despite the chaos of the current year, the competition is still going ahead!

 

Now more than ever, charities are in need of help and our school is doing as much as they can to make the competition possible. But in order to comply with Covid-19 regulations, the competition will be taking place online. If you have the opportunity to get involved this year, we encourage you to do so!

 

 

Taylor Rae and Alastair Condie