To mark ten years of support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery, last week 25 Kirkliston Rainbows, aged 4-7, helped Girlguiding host a birthday party to celebrate the milestone.
1st Kirkliston Rainbows were joined by representatives from Girlguiding and People’s Postcode Lottery in Edinburgh to say thank you for the £15 million that has been raised by players of the lottery throughout the valued relationship.
Since 2014, funding from players has supported Girlguiding to do more for girls and young women across the United Kingdom.
This includes listening to girls and promoting their voice, particularly through their support of the charity’s flagship research, the annual Girls’ Attitudes Survey.
This vital funding from players also means Girlguiding can take its work into more communities, offering adventure and empowerment to the girls and young women who need the programme the most.
They’ve allowed Girlguiding to improve the quality of their activities, helped to build partnerships with other organisations, grow their income and better influence decision makers with matters that are important to girls.
The celebratory event was joined by Scottish Influencer of the Year, Laura Young (Less Waste Laura). Known for the #BanDisposableVapes campaign, Laura helped the girls make environmentally friendly ‘thank you’ cards for People’s Postcode Lottery – also supporting the Rainbows in working towards earning their ‘Be Well’ badge.
Laura Young (Lesswastelaura), said:“Celebrating with the 1st Kirkliston Rainbows unit was an absolute joy and incredibly rewarding! It was inspiring to see young girls learning new skills, building confidence, and having fun together – something I got to experience myself when I was in Girlguiding.
“Embracing sustainability to create beautiful cards from recycled materials added a special touch, showing the girls how creativity and environmental awareness can go hand in hand.
“It was a joy to see their excitement and pride in making something meaningful, while also learning the importance of caring for our planet. Truly a memorable and fun experience!”
“The rest of the fun packed event consisted of party games and welcome songs, a special celebration birthday cake, and gifting People’s Postcode Lottery with the perfect present in true Girlguiding style – a giant thank you badge.
Ava, Rainbow, aged 6, said:“l had the best time at the Birthday party and l got a cupcake which was yummy. Rainbows’ day is my favourite day of the week. We do lots of fun things and play games like the washing machine game.”
Laura Chow, Head of Charities at People’s Postcode Lottery, said:“We are so proud and delighted that players have raised an incredible £15 million to support the work of Girlguiding, funding that has helped offer such an important safe and welcoming space for thousands of girls and young women over the last ten years.
“It was so special to receive our very own Girlguiding badge to mark this incredible milestone in our longstanding partnership.”
Angela Salt, CEO of Girlguiding, said:“We are so appreciative for the support that People’s Postcode Lottery has shown us over these last ten years. Thanks to their invaluable partnership, we are able to keep growing and evolving our girl-led programme.
“Charities like ours rely on funding from generous trusts like People’s Postcode Lottery, and we want to say a huge thank you as they continue to champion our mission to help girls know they can do anything.”
Lindsey Devin, Girlguiding unit leader and Edinburgh county commissioner, said:“I was delighted to have guests from People’s Postcode Lottery along to our very busy Rainbow unit here in Kirkliston.
“For funders to see firsthand what we do in our units each week, the fun we have and hear about the experiences we give our young members, thanks to their generosity, is key to our relationship. Guiding is built on friendship and Kirkliston Rainbows thank People’s Postcode Lottery for their friendship.“
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
