David Grevemberg: Commonwealth legacy goes on

GLASGOW and Scotland are continuing to benefit from the Commonwealth Games almost three months after the event, organisers have said.

David Grevemberg, Glasgow 2014 chief executive, said that people had always been at the heart of the story of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

Furniture from the athletes’ village, sporting equipment from the Games and medical supplies have been distributed across the country and parts of the Commonwealth as part of a promise to deliver a social legacy from Glasgow 2014.

The latest items given away have been games consoles, pool tables and board games used by athletes in the village which have been donated to organisations including Active East, the Scottish Refugee Council youth club and the Dalmarnock Hub.

Spare Clyde-sider volunteer uniforms have been given to charities including Waste to Wonder, which has taken the red and grey kits to Sierra Leone, and Mary’s Meals, which has distributed them in Malawi.

• Around £10,000 of unused medical equipment originally meant for athletes at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games will be donated to help women and children in Africa.

All the beds and furniture from the village has already been passed to Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) residents and other social housing tenants while up to £550,000 of sports equipment used in training and competition is being used by the Active Schools programme.

David Grevemberg, Glasgow 2014 chief executive, said: “People have always been at the heart of the story of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, so it’s absolutely appropriate that our assets should still be having a positive impact on communities and individuals, not just in Glasgow or Scotland but in other parts of the Commonwealth.

“I hope Glasgow 2014 continues to enhance lives and inspire for many years to come.”

It was announced earlier this week that Perth-based charity Freedom From Fistula Foundation is to benefit from a range of supplies including stethoscopes, blood pressure monitors and thermometers.

The foundation provides free maternity care and surgery to help women injured in childbirth and works in a range of Commonwealth countries including Kenya, Malawi and Sierra Leone.

• Tens of thousands of pieces of furniture used by athletes at the Commonwealth Games are being distributed to vulnerable tenants to help them furnish their homes.

Commonwealth Games minister Shona Robison said: “Every single piece of equipment that is suitable is being donated and reused by someone who needs it, in Glasgow or around the Commonwealth - a truly global legacy of the greatest-ever Games.”

Glasgow City Council leader Gordon Matheson said: “It is very pleasing that the assets of Glasgow 2014 are being distributed so well in the city, Scotland and across the Commonwealth.

“The planning for the Games always had legacy at its heart, and after such a successful 12 days during the summer, it is fantastic to see that so many people different people and organisations are now benefiting from these assets and investments.”

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