{"id":49388,"date":"2024-05-20T19:37:55","date_gmt":"2024-05-20T09:37:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=49388"},"modified":"2024-05-20T19:37:55","modified_gmt":"2024-05-20T09:37:55","slug":"crosscountry-partners-with-edinburgh-charity-to-support-15-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=49388","title":{"rendered":"CrossCountry partners with Edinburgh charity to support 15 students"},"content":{"rendered":"

Train operator CrossCountry<\/a> is celebrating the success of its pioneering partnership project with Edinburgh charity Upmo, after a year-long funding period came to an end last month.<\/p>\n

Upmo<\/a> (short for \u2018upward mobility\u2019) helps adults with learning disabilties to develop skills and confidence through workshops and other support services in and around Edinburgh. <\/p>\n

The \u00a315,500 donation from CrossCountry\u2019s Customer and Community Improvement Fund has provided 15 students with the opportunity (including support and supervision) to work in their community caf\u00e9s to gain hospitality and catering skills.<\/p>\n

Six students also successfully undertook their REHIS (Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland) Introduction to Food and Health course with Edinburgh Community Food.<\/p>\n

The train operator has also helped students to learn more about using trains and public transport by offering free familiarisation journeys on CrossCountry routes, with a chance to see how CrossCountry colleagues deliver great service to customers on board.<\/p>\n

Earlier in the year, CrossCountry colleagues visited Upmo\u2019s Drumbrae Caf\u00e9 at Drumbrae Leisure Centre, to see how the donation has helped students working there.<\/p>\n

Ben Simkin, Regional Director for CrossCountry\u2019s North East & Scotland region, said: \u201cIt\u2019s been fantastic to help Upmo support students to feel more comfortable and confident across Edinburgh \u2013 both on and off our trains.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur Customer and Communities Improvement Fund is a fantastic initiative that allows organisations to bid for funding to improve their local communities. I\u2019d urge community organisations across our network to look out for the next round of funding and apply when they can.\u201d<\/p>\n

The success of the Upmo community caf\u00e9s means there are now three caf\u00e9s supporting students across Edinburgh \u2013 St. Margaret\u2019s House Caf\u00e9, Leith Victoria Caf\u00e9 and Drumbrae Caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n

Claire Farquhar, Head of Operations at Upmo, said: \u201cIt\u2019s been wonderful to have the support of CrossCountry to develop our community caf\u00e9s and help students feel more comfortable about getting on the train. Upmo students had the opportunity to observe the catering team working on board the trains, and this gave them invaluable real life work experience which will help give improve their skills for moving on into employment in the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe always value support from businesses and organisations working in Edinburgh and we look forward to working closely with CrossCountry again in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Across the country, a total of \u00a394,885 was also awarded to a total of five charities as part of CrossCountry\u2019s Customer and Communities Improvement Fund.<\/p>\n

More information about this year\u2019s Customer and Communities Improvement Fund will be announced soon. Find out more about previous years\u2019 schemes here: www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk\/xc-community-hub\/ccif-fund<\/p>\n

To read more about Upmo and their work in Edinburgh, visit: www.upmo.org<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Train operator CrossCountry is celebrating the success of its pioneering partnership project with Edinburgh charity Upmo, after a year-long funding period came to an end […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":49389,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[7,11],"class_list":["post-49388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rail-news","tag-transport","tag-usa"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t