A new charitable trust has thrown its weight behind Nil by Mouth’s efforts to build bridges between different faiths and cultures in schools.
The Gilbert Elliot Memorial Trust (GEM) has awarded the charity £1,000 to fund a school tour as part of our ‘Neeps & Tatties’ project, which runs from St Andrews Day to Burns Night and uses the Scots language as a way of helping children better understand difference.
The GEM Trust was established to commemorate the memory of Gilbert Wilkie Elliot, a young man who like so very many of his generation, died in the trenches during the terrible years of the First World War. He has a simple Memorial in the graveyard of Pozieres in France. His descendant David Urquhart, one of the best know names in the Scottish travel industry, established the Trust with the aim of investing in charities where a small donation can make a big difference. Hundreds of children will now benefit from the tour which will see Scots poets and artists bring pupils from denominational and non-denominational schools together for a range of creative workshops.
Last year Nil by Mouth worked in more than one hundred schools across sixteen local authorities and aim to reach dozens more before the end of 2024.
GEM Trust Chair David Urquhart said:
‘Throughout my life I have lived and worked with people from a host of different faiths and cultures and know that when people come together they achieve great things. By investing in this project we hope to encourage children to build new friendships and celebrate the things they have in common. We established the Trust to remember someone who made the supreme sacrifice more than a century ago and inspired by Gilbert Elliot’s example we want it to make a difference in peoples lives. From making the hardest of times a little bit more bearable supporting the Children’s Hospice to building bridges between people with Nil by Mouth we aim to ensure Gilbert’s legacy through service to others.'
Nil by Mouth Partnership Manager Emma Alexander said:
‘This is a real boost for our work bringing children from different walks of life together to better understand one another. Neeps and Tatties has been one of our most successful education projects with more than 1,200 schools taking part and the donation from the Trust will allow us to run events with poets and writers that celebrate community and organise a number of community meals that will involve parents and local faith leaders. We are very grateful to the Trustees of the GEM Trust for putting their faith in us and will ensure that every young person involved in the project gets the most out of it.’