MCLAREN Packaging has made a £100,000 donation to the Newark Trust, a newly-established charity which aims to effect positive change in Inverclyde.
The cash will be used to kick start the charity’s vision to improve the lives, health, and welfare of people in Inverclyde, creating opportunities for a positive future. The current focus areas are child poverty, assisting children and young people with disabilities, and supporting local communities.
Trust charity manager Claire Stone said, “I am excited to see the Trust receiving such a positive start. Much work has been going on to establish the charity, including deciding the name, which is inspired by Newark Castle, the original settlement and historic cornerstone of the local community.
“The castle was for a long time hidden behind the giant cranes and sheds of the Clyde’s great shipyards and has only recently re-emerged to take its place in the townscape of Port Glasgow, symbolising a re-igniting of community that The Newark Trust aims to emulate. Newark was the original name for the town until the late 17th century, when it became known as Newport Glasgow, then simply Port Glasgow.”
The Trust is currently governed through a board of six trustees, including three founding trustees Jennifer McLaren and her sons Donald and Michael, Finlay Campbell, Alasdair Miller and chaired by Nikola Miller.
Established by Jim McLaren in Inverclyde in 1979, family business McLaren Packaging is today run by his sons Donald and Michael. The business has always been supportive of the local community, in which the majority of its employees live, and supporting the Trust underlines this commitment.
The business has initially donated £100,000 and pledged to donate a percentage of its profits every year to the Trust.
A team of McLaren ‘Packaging Pacers’ raised funds for the charity by taking part in the biggest ever Glasgow Kiltwalk on April 28. More than 30 McLaren employees took part in one of the three distances: The Mighty Stride (22.6 miles from Glasgow Green to Balloch); The Big Stroll (14.2 miles from Clydebank to Balloch); and The Wee Wander (3.1 miles from Loch Lomond Shores to Moss O’Balloch Park).
Michael McLaren, founding trustee at The Newark Trust, said, “The Kiltwalk is more than just a walk; it’s a celebration of community, charity, and the spirit of giving back. Known for its lively atmosphere, with music, entertainment, and plenty of laughs along the way, it was a day filled with joy, celebration, and the satisfaction of knowing you’re making a difference.”
www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/thenewarktrustkiltwalk
