The government investment of £6.8m through Inspiring Scotland finds some 28 projects spread across Scotland selected from over 70 applications to the Fund, announced in March. The organisations are to be supported by over 120 individuals and businesses providing free or reduced fee services to awardees.

Of the 24 charities that benefit from the funding, nine named include Action for Children, The Care and Learning Alliance, Barnardo’s Scotland, Grounds for Learning, Quarriers, the Scottish Childminding Association, Stepping Stones for Families, Circle - support to marginalised families and children - and the Scottish Pre-School Play Association.

Quarriers will use the money to extend their nursery and family centre in Easterhouse, Glasgow, doubling the nursery’s capacity for babies and under-threes, and to increase the outreach and centre-based family support.

Grounds for Learning, the Scottish programme of the UK charity Learning through Landscapes, will use the funding to deliver free play sessions in four areas across Glasgow, Stirling and Lanarkshire and support the community to improve their local play spaces.

INVEST £1: SAVE £9 IN FUTURE
The Scottish minister for children and early years Adam Ingram (right)  said, ‘This investment of £6.8m in early years and earlier intervention is very good news with hundreds of children and families set to benefit.

"Early support and preventative spending for vulnerable children and families in Scotland helps us tackle problems before they turn into crisis situations, all of which is hugely beneficial for children and young people, as well as society as a whole.

"For every £1 spent in early intervention in the early years, the taxpayer saves £9 in future. This investment is across almost the whole of Scotland supporting parents, children and local communities and I’d like to thank Inspiring Scotland for the key role it has played in helping to deliver this hugely important initiative.’

Organisations offering support include Microsoft, which will provide IT support and Pagoda PR, which will deliver marketing and public relations support. Five legal firms and two accountancy firms have also pledged their support.

BYTE NIGHT's PHILANTHROPY
A quick look at the Action for Children site might seem to suggest that Scotland plays no part in the charity. News from Cymraeg, Ballyclare, Gwent, Sheffield, Gateshead and Stratford? Yes. Names from north of the border? No. But this quick look is deceptive.

Action for Children, Scotland in fact supports over 8,000 children and young people in 62 projects. 

Next month some 202 IT volunteers from across Scotland are to bed down in Edinburgh's Holyrood Park for Byte Night on October 7th to raise awareness of youth (16-25) homelessness.

Armed with sleeping bags the volunteers are the IT staff from BSkyB, BT Open Reach, Ernest & Young, Dell, Amazon, IBM, Edinburgh Airport and Miller Construction, just to name a few, will brave the Scottish October weather for the IT industry’s annual sleep-out in support of Action for Children.

Chair of the Byte Night Scotland Board said  “People who are technologically-disadvantaged these days are in a position of great weakness that makes it very difficult to break the cycle of deprivation. Imagine trying to find a job, produce a CV or complete an application form without the use of a phone, computer or the internet – and that is before you even get into the workplace, where people are expected to have at least a basic knowledge of IT.

“It is important to remember that many vulnerable young people do not have access to the everyday technologies that we take for granted. At the very least, this is a social tool that is used constantly by their peers but they are missing out on; at the very worst it can have a significant impact on their ability to take up work and educational opportunities that would improve their personal and financial circumstances.”

At last year's event some 86 sleepers raised £46,000 to fight youth homelessness and social deprivation. With more than double the number  taking part in this year’s event the charity hopes to exceed its past achievement hopefully raising £100,000.

The small Byte Night's board of last year has also been expanded and now interestingly includes 4 women directors, among them (left) Harvey Nash's Rhona Hutchon.

“The support and enthusiasm for Byte Night has been incredible and we’re very grateful to all the teams and individuals for taking part,” said Grant McFarlane, (right)  corporate and major donor fundraising manager at Action for Children>

He can rattle off  Scottish projects at Dundee, Alloa, Newton Mearns and the Kirkintilloch canal project, as being among Scottish work for Action for Children.

“There is a genuine appetite among participants to transform the lives of the young people we work with – with some keen sleepers coming back for their third or fourth years. The night itself looks to be a huge success, and like all our sleepers, I am just hoping the rain stays off!”