The PAS Foundation received welcome support from Scotland’s housing industry this week, when Homes for Scotland chief executive Nicola Barclay presented the Foundation with a donation of £6,500, raised at the Homes for Scotland Annual Lunch 2016.

The presentation took place at the PAS Foundation office on Princes Street, Edinburgh.

The Homes for Scotland Annual Lunch and Awards took place at the EICC on Friday 20 May 2016. A record-breaking 1,100 guests took part in the largest single gathering of industry representatives and their guests. This year’s prize draw supported the work of two charitable organisations the PAS Foundation, as well as Habitat for Humanity.

The PAS Foundation supports primary and secondary pupils and young adults to become involved in placemaking to become more active and involved citizens. They discover how to engage in the debate, design and development of sustainable and inclusive places and to make their voice matter.

Nicola Barclay, chief executive of Homes for Scotland said: “I am delighted to present this donation on behalf of those industry representatives who gave so generously as guests of our recent Annual Lunch in Edinburgh.

“Our sector fully supports the vital work undertaken by the PAS Foundation, educating and encouraging young people to take a central role in shaping our future communities.”

Petra Biberbach, a trustee of the PAS Foundation, said: “I’m delighted that the PAS Foundation has received such strong support from the housing industry in Scotland, highlighting a growing desire for young people to have a greater say in the decisions that affect all of us and which will impact on our young people for the longest time.”

Former First Minister, Rt Hon Henry McLeish, also a trustee of the PAS Foundation, added: “The PAS Foundation will deliver education programmes free of charge so that young people from all walks of life, especially those from deprived areas to develop the skills to be more active citizens and ensure their opinions are listened and taking into account.”

Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) sets out that all children have the right to an opinion and for it to be listened to and taken seriously. The PAS Foundation supports – and aims to further – these basic rights of young people to engage, understand and shape the places where they live.