It's a successful spring for Re-engage Scotland, thanks to great news about grants and an invitation to tea with the King.

Re-engage groups Brechin and Montrose have continued their magnificent run of receiving awards from the Youth Philanthropy Initiative (YPI), worth £3,000 each.The YPI is run by the Wood Foundation in Scotland and since the initiative started in 2008 over 390,000 young people have been involved, helping distribute £8.5m to charities. The annual programme is designed to raise awareness of social issues while helping students develop skills and confidence.

Just before Christmas 2025, 14-year-old Brechin High School students, Iona Black, Joslyn Clark, Lydia Spalding, and Lena Lisewska, learned they had won an award for the Brechin group. And last month, Eva Islam and Ava Taylor, who are both 13 and attend the Montrose Academy, achieved the same for their local group. In 2024, students from the Linlithgow Academy won a YPI award for the Re-engage West Lothian groups and last year it was the turn of Arbroath High School girls to receive a £3,000 cheque on behalf of the Angus groups.

Fiona Lawrence, head teacher of Brechin High, which entered seven groups for the awards, said: “They are a fantastic group of girls and its incredibly important for young people to have this connection with the community.”

Brechin Group Coordinator, Irene Heron, managed to secure another £5,000 from the local authority as well as £500 from Voluntary Action Angus to support the groups. She explained: “Getting this money has been marvellous. It means we can treat the older people to outings which they really love. We recently saw Sister Act at a local theatre and we are planning more trips to the cinema and for afternoon tea at a restaurant.

“It’s a lovely bonus and will benefit all the Angus groups, so the girls have done an excellent job and we are very grateful for all the effort they made.”

Christine Russell, who is Ava's grandmother and runs the Morton group, said: “I’m very proud of the girls. They put in a lot of hard work, going to a tea party, talking to the guests and then doing a marvellous video presentation about Re-engage. They knew an awful lot about the charity and confidently answered every question that was put to them.”

In other exciting news, Kirkcaldy coordinator, Kerrie Hutchison and volunteer driver, Catherine Nealon, have been invited to a royal garden party at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh on June 30 as reward for their services to Re-engage.

Kerrie, who has run the group since 2022, said: “We are very privileged to have been invited and very excited. We’ve already bought our outfits and I’ve changed the date of my holiday so I wouldn’t miss what is going to be a very special occasion.”