Seamab provides care and education to some of Scotland’s most vulnerable children aged between 5 and 18 years who have been removed from their family for their own safety. These children have been subjected to significant neglect and physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Built 40 years ago as a residential property, Seamab’s current school is not an effective learning environment. There is no gymnasium, assembly or dining space; classrooms are cramped, with poor air and light quality. The aging building is difficult and costly to maintain. Through the exciting £5.5m ‘Building our Future’ project, Seamab will create a new fit-for-purpose school to provide a stimulating environment where the children can recover, learn and grow. The new school, planned to open in 2025, and will be a physical launchpad for children to believe in their potential and build a future which once might never have been imaginable to them.

Built in the grounds of NHS hospitals, Maggie’s drop-in centres are warm and welcoming places, with qualified professionals on hand to offer support, information and practical advice. The charity’s aim is to make the biggest difference possible to people living with cancer and their family and friends. For people with cancer, this support is vital. Maggie’s first opened in Edinburgh in 1996 and there are now 26 centres across the UK with a growing network of three abroad, with more planned to open. Last year the centres welcomed over 300,000 visits, with the numbers expected to rise substantially in years to come.

Scotland has the world’s third highest incidence of type 1 diabetes with around 35,000 people living with the autoimmune condition. Rates are rising rapidly, particularly in children aged between five and nine, with over a thousand Scots diagnosed with type 1 every year. JDRF is the type 1 diabetes research charity, funding innovative global research from pioneering biology studies to exciting clinical trials. JDRF-funded researchers at universities across Scotland are tackling crucial challenges in type 1 research ranging from treating eye complications to replacing insulin-making beta cells. Funds raised at The Shoot will support their research, capitalising on Scotland’s world-leading scientists to improve the lives of people with type 1, and one day eradicate it for good.