Young Scot Rewards reaches a landmark 100,000 in its fourth year.
Over 100,000 11-26 year olds in communities across Scotland are accessing the pioneering digital programme through their Young Scot National Entitlement Card. They are rewarded with points for making choices that have a positive impact on themselves, their communities or the environment.
Activities which earn points can range from volunteering in local communities, being more active more often, learning a new skill such as CPR, and sharing their opinions or voting on important issues. Since the programme launched, young people have completed over 200,000 activities and earned over 49 million points.
Young Scot Rewards points can be exchanged for bespoke money-can’t-buy experiences or exclusive rewards such as sports kit and tech products. More than 67,000 rewards, prize draw submissions and experience applications have been made in the last five years.
Top rewards have included tickets to large-scale sporting and cultural events such as the European Rugby Challenge Cup, Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and 2017 MOBO Awards. There have also been blogging experiences with Scottish ballet, work shadowing of Scottish Government Ministers and Michelin-starred chefs, and the chance to go behind the scenes at STV.
Young Scot Rewards has helped young people attend Developer Week in San Francisco, register for MoonWalk Scotland, abseil the Forth Rail Bridge for charity and take part in the Edinburgh Marathon. It has also connected young people with first aid courses, local artist workshops and driving lessons.
One of the biggest successes of the programme has been engaging young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and those who are experiencing poverty. Over a third of Young Scot Rewards users are in the two lowest sectors of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation. The programme removes barriers and promotes equality of access.
Louise Macdonald, Chief Executive of Young Scot, said: “This is a monumental milestone for Young Scot Rewards as we reach our 100,000th user and connect them with incredible opportunities, online and offline. We’ve seen first-hand the benefits of giving users the opportunity to try something new in their community and opening doors to new experiences.
“The Young Scot Rewards programme removes barriers to participation, supports personal development and keeps a useful record of young people’s achievements. We’re always looking for new and exciting opportunities to offer young people and we’d love to hear from any businesses or organisations interested in getting involved in the Rewards programme.”
To mark the milestone 100,000th user being signed up, Young Scot organised an extra special rewards experience. Some of our most active young people from across Scotland enjoyed a special tour of the Edinburgh Dungeon and designed an Escape Edinburgh’s puzzle solving escape room.
To celebrate online, Young Scot Rewards users can enter to win a Fitbit Charge 2 and throughout October all new members will collect 250 points when they register.
Any organisations interested in becoming Young Scot Rewards partners can get more information at youngscot.net/rewards. To sign up or access the Young Scot Rewards platform, young people should visit the young.scot website.
Image courtesy of Stripe Communications
