PATIENTS at Inverclyde Royal Hospital will benefit thanks to hard-working school students whose excellent presentation clinched a £3,000 grant.
Patrick Smith and Corey Fowler, third year students at Lomond View Academy, Greenock, won a Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) award.
They researched local charity Inverclyde League of Hospital Friends for a presentation in front of an adjudicating panel and were “seriously chuffed” when they were announced as winners.
The league runs The Helen Wyllie Tea Bar at Inverclyde Royal Hospital, using the money raised to buy medical equipment.
Staff members, teacher Heather Gibson, and depute head teacher, Jane Murray, were full of praise for Patrick and Corey: “The boys worked hard researching their chosen charity and gave an excellent presentation. We are very proud of their achievement.”
Patrick said: “I was really nervous before the presentation. I had never done something like that before. But I enjoyed doing it and can’t believe Corey and me have won. We chose the tea bar at Inverclyde Royal because we have had relatives who have been patients in the hospital and the tea bar is a great place. It helps a lot of people.”
Chairperson of the League of Hospital Friends in Inverclyde, Peter Hempsey, said: “The boys have done really well to win this competition and I am delighted that they chose our charity to research.
“The £3,000 is a fantastic amount for us to receive. We will allocate the money to an appropriate bid for funding for equipment from one of the wards and departments in the hospital. Once the equipment has been bought and is in use, we will arrange for the boys to visit the hospital and see how it will benefit patients.”
The Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) award is open to schools across Scotland. YPI opens young people’s minds to issues in their communities and charities that are doing something to address these. Young people develop a creative and convincing presentation in a bid to secure the funding.
YPI is the flagship initiative of The Wood Foundation which was established in 2007 by its executive chairman Sir Ian Wood and his immediate family.
