A CHARITABLE trust established in memory of a young soldier has thrown its weight behind a Glasgow project building bridges between different faiths and cultures in schools.
The Gilbert Elliot Memorial Trust (GEM) has awarded anti-sectarian campaigners Nil by Mouth £1000 to fund a school tour as part of its Neeps and Tatties programme.
The initiative, which runs from St Andrew’s Day to Burns Night, 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 died in the trenches during the First World War. He has a simple memorial in the graveyard of Pozieres in France.
His descendant David Urquhart, one of the best known 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 together pupils from denominational and non-denominational schools for a range of creative workshops.
Nil by Mouth was set up by former Glasgow Times Scotswoman of the Year Cara Henderson in response to the brutal sectarian murder of her school friend Mark Scott as he made his way home from a football match in 1995.
Last year it worked in more than 100 schools across 16 local authorities. It is the latest charity to benefit from a donation from the GEM Trust, with Children’s Hospice Scotland and Baby Bank Scotland having already been awarded £1000 each to support their work.
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GEM Trust chairman 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.”
He added: “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 people’s 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 1200 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 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.”
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