People in need
Although the Royal Caledonian Charities Trust generally focuses on six broad categories of beneficiaries, it also has the ability to respond to cases of immediate need and national crisis. In recent years, this has meant the Trust has been able to help address the surge in charitable need following both the COVID19 pandemic and cost-of-living crisis. A few examples of this work can be found on the right.
Forthgiving
Forthgiving offers financial support to people in crisis in the Forth Valley area, working with frontline organisations to help meet their needs. In 2020, in the midst of the COVID19 pandemic, the Royal Caledonian Charities Trust donated £2,000 towards projects in Stirling and Falkirk. This allowed Forthgiving to offer block grant funding to the outreach support service provided by the successful Start Up Stirling food bank across the Stirling Council area, as well as seed funding to set up a similar pilot partnership with Falkirk Trinity Church to support its Clothing for Schoolchildren in Need project.
Granton Parish Church
Granton Parish Church primarily serves the communities of Granton, Wardieburn and Royston in North West Edinburgh. It is very much a community hub, strongly connected with voluntary agencies in the area and with the local primary school.
A recent grant from the Royal Caledonian Charities Trust supported the church's flagship Share’n’Wear service. Share’n’Wear reduces the immediate impact of poverty on individuals in the local community by providing good quality, free, second-hand clothing for men, women and children. It also distributes free rescued bread (courtesy of three branches of Bayne’s Bakery), as well as toiletries (kindly donated by Johnston Smillie) and sanitary products. Share’n’Wear is open for three sessions each week (Wednesday & Thursday afternoons and Friday lunchtimes) and is timed to coincide both with Granton Primary School pick-up times (the school is located just across the road) and, on a Friday, with a drop-in coffee morning at the church for parents with young children.
Share’n’Wear also acts as a community hub, with their Community Engagement Officer and two regular volunteers taking the time to build relationships with their service users. Service users value the fact that they are welcomed and heard in this setting, plus the project worker and volunteers are also able to refer to other local organisations for additional support, e.g. with benefits advice or to the local food bank
Pregnancy Counselling & Care
Pregnancy Counselling& Care Scotland (PCCS) is an Edinburgh-based charity which runs two distinct services:
1) Its counselling service, offered free of charge or by donation, supports parents who are struggling with their mental health during pregnancy, or as a result of infertility, or in the first years after a child’s birth.
2) Its Baby Bank service reduces the immediate impact of poverty on parents with newborn babies and young children by providing equipment and clothes to families who are referred to them by midwives, health visitors, social workers or voluntary organisations working in areas of deprivation or with marginalised groups. This early intervention reduces parental anxiety, knowing that their baby’s immediate needs are met and gives the child the best start in life.
The charity is a well-trusted organisation with a fast response time, delivering directly to families, rather than back through referring agencies, meaning they can respond to crisis situations as well as helping those experiencing long-term poverty. Over the last 12 months PCCS have seen a 52% rise in the number of families they have supported – a growth from 215 families to 327 families. Grants from the Royal Caledonian Charities Trust have helped cover delivery costs for items from the Baby Bank.
