ABERDEEN-based family charity, Home-Start Aberdeen, is calling on Scotmid shoppers throughout Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire to consider voting for them as they shop, in a bid to win the lion’s share of a £25,000 funding pot from Scotmid’s Community Connect award scheme. Shortlisted alongside two other North of Scotland-based good causes, the charity is guaranteed £5,000, but could win a further £10,000 with enough votes from Scotmid customers.
“It’s fantastic to have been shortlisted for Scotmid’s Community Connect funding award,” says Home-Start Aberdeen’s Chief Executive, Eleanor McEwan. “Whether it’s £5,000 or £15,000, the funds will go towards our Recipe for Life project, a healthy eating initiative designed to help parents and carers develop their cooking skills and improve their family’s diet.”
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With an estimated 1 in 5 of Aberdeen’s children now living in poverty, there are many parents with little or no practical cooking experience who want to make changes but don’t necessarily know how.Through the provision of one-to-one fortnightly cooking sessions in families’ own homes with a trained volunteer, food packs, recipes, kitchen equipment, group cooking and food sharing sessions, the project improves family diets, and increases their knowledge, skills and confidence around cooking and healthy eating.
“The nutrition children receive in their early years can affect the rest of their lives,” continues Eleanor. “Helping parents achieve and maintain healthy weights for their children translates to improving their concentration levels, physical and cognitive development, learning outcomes, behaviours and long-term health.”
Scotmid shoppers can vote for Home-Start Aberdeen by becoming a Scotmid member and collecting one Community Connect vote each time they shop in store. Their votes will then determine the funding amount that each shortlisted charity receives – to be announced in October.
The other good causes shortlisted in the North are Just Bee Productions, based in Dundee, and Culloden Community Garden, based in Inverness.
Keen to support Home-Start Aberdeen? Pop into your local Scotmid and become a member today!
To find out more visit: How does Community Connect work for Good Cause Groups? | Scotmid Co-operative
For over 30 years Home-Start Aberdeen has been supporting vulnerable families across the city, preventing family crisis and breakdown and helping parents give their children the best possible start in life. Any family living in Aberdeen with at least one child aged under five is eligible for their services. For more information on Home-Start Aberdeen visit www.homestartaberdeen.org.uk
