Hillcrest Foundation awards over £90k to charities and community groups

The Hillcrest Foundation has given a valuable boost to local charities and community groups in Scotland, awarding £92,713 to 23 organisations working to improve communities and the lives of people experiencing various hardships or disadvantages.

Just some of the beneficiaries included Feeling Strong – a Dundee youth mental health charity; Downs Syndrome Scotland, which will use the money to fund family support sessions across Scotland, and BeFriends – a Dundee charity that supports young people aged 5-25 experiencing social isolation or adverse childhoods.

Other funding recipients also included Into Work, which aims to support those with disabilities and long-term illnesses with skills to get back into work. Glasgow community group, Al-Meezan was another beneficiary, with the funds helping the group continue to provide a safe space for older Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) women to socialise and learn new skills through art and well-being workshops.

Established in 2020, the Hillcrest Foundation is the charitable arm of Hillcrest, with profits from the organisation’s two commercial companies – Hillcrest Enterprises and Hillcrest Maintenance, contributing towards the pot.

The Foundation, whose ambassador is world-renowned games entrepreneur Chris van der Kuyl, was established to help reduce inequality and isolation, and support communities and those experiencing disadvantages, challenges or disabilities in the regions Hillcrest operates in.

Feeling Strong Services and Operations Manager, Beth Davidson, said: “I would like to thank all of the team at the Hillcrest Foundation for their incredibly kind and generous donation.

“Feeling Strong exists to make sure that every young person in Dundee, who has experienced a mental health or wellbeing challenge is supported to reach their full potential. Dundee is a city with great need when it comes to mental health, especially in our young people, and our work supports their positive recovery journey.

“Every donation helps us to continue running our valuable work streams, projects and activities that make real and lasting change in the Dundee community. I would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude towards the Hillcrest Foundation for helping us to do what we do best.”

Down’s Syndrome Scotland Head of Service Development, Jo Hughes, said: “We are so grateful for this award from the Hillcrest Foundation to help deliver our Family Support Service. It will help us reach more individuals living with Down’s Syndrome in Scotland more quickly and more often, with the right support when they need it.”

Hillcrest Foundation Chairperson, Mark Percival added: “We’re delighted to have again been able to fund so many fantastic initiatives.

“Improving lives and communities is at the heart of everything we aim to do through the Foundation, so local charities and community groups that engage directly with people, and are essentially the ‘boots on the ground’ are a truly vital aspect in this aim.”

Hillcrest established its Foundation to support activity in Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Fife, Perth and Kinross, Aberdeen and Angus. Managed by a Board of Trustees, the Foundation supports external community initiatives and builds on Hillcrest’s corporate social responsibility.

To find out more about the Hillcrest Foundation, visit www.hillcrest.org.uk/hillcrest-foundation.