A Rothes woman is celebrating after receiving a share of a £67,000 funding pot.
Debi Weir, 47, has worked tirelessly over the years to tackle poverty in Moray – an issue, she says, is often “hidden” from society.
She’s in the process of launching R-evolution Scotland, a charitable “community benefit society” offering training and development to businesses.
When launched, it will give 100% of profits toward programmes to tackle child poverty.
It will also be offering training to manufacturing, retail and tourism sector industries to support employee development.
Support is offered to families who are referred to the charity by professional organisations – including the council, the NHS and charities.
Now Mrs Weir received £5,000 from social enterprise start-up agency Firstport to help her with her venture.
She said: “R-evolution Scotland was born from the Moray School Club when we were thinking about sustainability.
“It’s a community benefit society and 100% of profits will go toward ending child poverty which is a growing issue in Moray.
“Since 2017, we’ve dealt with 900 referrals.
“Lots of the Moray economy is based on manufacturing, retail and tourism sectors where people often work part time or get paid minimum wage.
“There’s hidden poverty that more needs to be done to address.”
She added: “It’s really exciting to receive this money from Firstport and get the ball rolling.”
The funding goes toward various legal fees in setting up R-evolution Scotland, advertising and marketing costs to help make it a reality.
Mrs Weir was one of 14 social social entrepreneurs to have secured a share of £67,000 from Firstport, and the only recipient in the entirety of the north-east and Highlands.
Established in 2007, Firstport is Scotland’s development agency for start-up social enterprise.
Last night Josiah Lockhart, chief executive of the agency, said: “It’s great to see such a large number of social entrepreneurs being awarded our Start It funding.
“This round shows how the social enterprise model continues to grow in popularity across the country, and how social and environmental missions are at the core of start-ups in Scotland.”
Earlier this month it was revealed that one in five children in Moray are living in poverty.
Jo Kirby,of the Northern Alliance, addressed members of Moray Council’s Children and Young People’s Services Committee to explain their work to combat child poverty in the region.
The Northern Alliance incorporates eight regional authorities throughout the north, including Moray, working with councils and education workers to address the poverty-related attainment gap in schools.
Moray, along with Highland and Argyll and Bute, has the highest number of children living in poverty across the Northern Alliance area – one in five children.
Ms Kirby told councillors: “We’ve seen a huge increase in pressure in the last decade on household budgets due to the rising cost of essentials and transport.
“Food budgets have increased and energy bills. Of course, food poverty is a significant issue, and energy and fuel poverty are also an issue in rural areas.”
“There is often a misconception about poverty that it’s an urban problem. It’s easier to see poverty in urban areas because it tends to be concentrated – and rural poverty looks very different.”
The alliance works alongside Education Scotland and the Scottish Government towards the vision outlined in the National Improvement Framework for Scottish education published in 2016, key to which is closing the attainment gap and delivering equity.
