By Emily Clark of The Forget Me Not Club, Banchory
The Forget Me Not Club would like to extend its deep appreciation and sincere thanks to Cameron Skene (13), Tommy Miller (13) and Taylor Gibson (13) who are all in S2 at Mackie Academy. These three remarkable young gentlemen have, entirely on their own initiative, raised an incredible amount of funds for our much-loved dementia support service.
Cameron, Tommy and Taylor started learning about The Forget Me Not Club as part of their school’s Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) project, where school students are encouraged to learn about social causes, charitable work, and the amazing difference people can make in their communities. Working in teams, students taking part in the YPI project research their chosen cause, represent a charity championing that cause, and make a presentation to their classmates, teachers and external judges. The winning team each year can win £3,000 for their chosen charity, which in the current financial climate, is an extremely welcome and important source of funding.
While learning about dementia and the work of the Forget Me Not Club, the boys felt that they wanted to go above and beyond what was being asked of them, and decided to undertake a 14km sponsored bicycle ride on the coastal path from Gourlay to Johnshaven to raise funds for our charity. So they set up a Just Giving page, and at the end of their school day on Friday 15th May, they undertook their amazing journey, and we’re delighted to say they have raised an incredible £958 (so far) on their just Giving page.
Now, as if that wasn’t enough, these wonderful young people made such a moving and compelling presentation in their YPI project that they reached the finals of the competition on Tuesday 19th May, and then despite very tough competition from classmates’ teams representing other worthy causes, they WON the overall competition and secured the £3,000 prize for the Forget Me Not Club.
So we would like to extend a very well deserved ‘well done, and thank you!’ to Cameron, Tommy and Taylor, as well as everyone who contributed to their Just Giving page, everyone who voted for them in the YPI competition, and all their parents and teachers for supporting such remarkable young people. These youngsters give us hope for the future, and we take a great deal of comfort in knowing that the generations growing up now are doing so with a social conscience, and a genuine desire to make a difference in the world. You are wonderful role models, boys, and we can’t wait to welcome you to one of our sessions so we can give you a pat on the back and a round of applause.
If anyone would like to donate to the boys’ Just Giving page (and help them reach the £1,000 they’re nearly at) you can find it by going to Just Giving and searching ‘Tommy, Taylor and Cameron’s fundraiser for Forget Me Not Club’, and if you happen to know the boys or their families, please give them a big pat on the back from us.