SCOTLAND'S former chief constable Iain Livingstone has been appointed to head up a drive to deliver donations of millions of pounds worth of household goods to Scottish families in need.
Livingstone will act as chair of the Multibank project, which has set an ambitious target to provide £25 million worth of goods to households struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.
He will be joined by new chief executive Kirsty Thomson, who is leaving her current role as chief executive officer of Dundee and Glasgow-based social enterprise The Circle.
The leadership team hope to deliver £2.5m worth of goods a year to people facing hardship across the country over the next decade.
READ MORE: Scottish Government U-turns on funding cut for mental health charity
Set up in 2022 by the Cottage Family Centre strategic manager Pauline Buchan and former prime minister Gordon Brown, the Multibank project receives donated household goods from companies for distribution to local families in need.
Donations can include food, soap, bedding, toothpaste, shampoo, toilet rolls, nappies and cleaning products.
Warehouses have already been established in Lochgelly, Wigan and Swansea, and more are expected to open in Dundee, Edinburgh and Perth and Kinross.
The goods come directly from nearly 90 companies across the UK, including Amazon, which is planning to donate 1.4m goods this year.
Livingstone said: “As a police officer for over 30 years, I saw at first hand the devastating effect of poverty in communities, and in particular for children and young people.
“To achieve fairer and safer communities we must tackle poverty. It’s a priority for both social justice and social cohesion.
“That’s why I’m honoured to join the mission to help provide people across Scotland a lifeline out of poverty through the work of Multibanks.”
Thomson said she was “deeply honoured and excited” to be named chief executive.
She said: “The dedication and passion of this organisation is inspiring, and I am committed to furthering our impact and driving meaningful change for those in need.
“Together with Rt Honourable Gordon Brown, the highly experienced board of trustees, talented team, dedicated volunteers and generous supporters, I look forward to building on our strong foundation and exploring new opportunities to serve our communities and advance our mission.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel