More than half of the young people enrolled by The Distillers’ Charity’s Youth Action Fund in 2022 have already either got a job or made a step towards qualifying for one. This work was made possible because of £2.4million raised through the Distillers One of One Auction Series of rare and collectable Scotch Whiskies, supported by industry producers from across Scotland.

The scale and impact of the work is revealed in The Distillers’ Charity Impact Report, which highlights how the Youth Action Fund has engaged nearly 500 disadvantaged young people in Scotland to date, more than half of whom have already gone on to secure employment, apprenticeships, further education, training, or work as volunteers.

Youth unemployment in Scotland at 7.5 per cent is double the rate for the overall working population, putting added pressure on the most marginalised young people who may be struggling to join the world of work. Surveys conducted by Inspiring Scotland, who manage the Youth Action Fund’s portfolio of charity partners, reveal that the young people being supported face significant hurdles to reaching their potential, with mental health and learning challenges cited as the main barriers to employment, often made harder by the impact of poverty and deprivation.

Grant Gordon OBE, Chair of The Distillers’ Charity

Our vision, when we created the charitable Distillers One of One Auction Series for Scotch Whisky, was to make a strong social impact transforming lives of disadvantaged young people supporting them to acquire life skills and confidence needed to achieve employability outcomes. To engage with some of the hardest-to-reach young people and empower them to create positive change in their lives.

The Distillers’ Charity, which was founded in 1955 as the philanthropic arm of the Worshipful Company of Distillers, partnered with six charities – Aberdeen Foyer, Action for Children, Enable Works, Fare Scotland, and Street League alongside Alcohol Education Trust. Working collaboratively this group of charities are reaching young people in some of the country’s most deprived urban areas, as well as those in need in rural communities.

One of the Youth Action Fund’s beneficiaries, John Brown from Glasgow, was referred to Action for Children for employability support when he turned 16. He had been placed into care at the age of eight and moved from home to home continually switching schools which had lasting effects on his mental health, education and relationships. Supported by Action for Children, John was able to participate in the charity’s Intro to Care programme where, with help from his worker, he completed. He now plans to become a paramedic and has a place to study health and social care at college next year.

I am proud to be part of an industry that, through its collective charitable endeavours, is supporting young people to achieve their ambitions and strengthening our communities. We look forward to continued collaboration with our charity partners as we strive to make a measurable and lasting positive impact on the lives of young people in Scotland.

Grant Gordon OBE, Chair of The Distillers’ Charity

Rare whiskies are helping to turn around the lives of hundreds of young Scots - Grant Gordon OBE

Comments