A hard act to follow – that’s pop sensation Darius and wee Ben Lockhart who teamed up with Scottish Social Justice Minister Margaret Curran to perform the opening of our ‘dream on…make a difference’ initiative at Easterhouse.
The £300,000 Crimestoppers Scotland campaign aims to prompt children to contact the anonymous Crimestoppers hotline to rid their communities of crimes like persistent mobile phone theft, drug dealing and selling illegal alcohol. |
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They will be offered free top ups for their mobile phones of £10 and upwards as a reward depending on the quality of the information and seriousness of the crime.
The initiative will also establish a mentoring scheme, where young people who have turned their lives around will give advice to children on how to steer clear of crime.
An exhibition featuring a huge picture of six year old Ben will tour schools around Scotland to get the message across. Another highlight is a national writing competition with winners being included in a book by Crimestoppers Scotland called ‘dream on…the hopes and aspirations of a new generation.’
The Scottish Executive and the Royal Bank of Scotland are backing the plan, giving between them £100,000 to Crimestoppers Scotland.
Pop star Darius said: “ An initiative like this will draw attention to the problems facing young people in our communities. When I was at school the kid who was the troublemaker was always seen as the cool kid, but I would like to stress that breaking the law is not cool at all.”
“Young people should know the difference between right and wrong. I hope the ‘dream on…’ initiative makes a difference and helps make our streets safer.”
Stewart McCulloch, chairman of Crimestoppers Scotland
added:“ Our commitment to young people continues to play a large part in communicating the Crimestoppers message through a wide range of Crime stoppers’ youth projects in which we involve young people on the level through a variety of mediums including; Theatre in Education; the use of bands in schools; working in nightclubs and now our ‘dream on…make a difference’ campaign which strives to get the message across that dreams are part of what are, the reason we labour for a better future for ourselves, our friends our communities – a positive step to get our youth on the right road by giving them back the hope they’ve lost, to show them there is a way to shine! And plenty of people, young and old to help them do it. But there’s nom place for blame in the ‘dream on…’ campaign!”
And Gordon Ferrie, Head of Group Security at The Royal Bank of Scotland said: “ The ‘dream on…’ initiative will make a dramatic difference to the way crime is tackled throughout Scotland by targeting young people and showing those who might be vulnerable to getting involved in crime that there is another way to turn. We are pleased to be able to assist in this.”
Remember – positive possibilities can replace young people’s despair!
Dream On...
Make a difference…
Make the call to 0800 555 111 |
