The leading Scottish PPE manufacturer has joined forces with the NHS to donate tens of thousands to help charities recover from the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Leading Scottish firm Alpha Solway, part of the biggest British-based PPE manufacturer Globus Group, has partnered with NHS Scotland to donate £100,000 to support charities across the country.

NHS Scotland has launched a new charitable initiative which will see Alpha Solway give £50,000 for charitable causes in Dumfries & Galloway and another £50,000 to ones in Shetland. NHS Scotland will distribute the donations via a specialised portal to various charities across the two regions, helping communities recover from the destructive effects of the ongoing pandemic.

The first charity to receive a slice of the funds is Action for Children, which supports vulnerable children and young people and their families.

A grant of £5,000 has been awarded by the charity to fund summer activities at Upper Nithsdale Family Service. These activities are designed to build resilience and supplement the intensive one-to-one support work which is already being done at the Service. It will also focus on supporting children who have suffered with mental health issues over lockdown.

Alpha Solway has been working closely with NHS Scotland since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic last year, delivering millions of vital respiratory PPE products and face fit testing services to help protect frontline workers.

Managing Director of Alpha Solway, Steven Binnie, said:"We have a long-standing relationship with NHS Scotland and are proud to continue our support protecting the public across our local communities.

"Since the start of the pandemic, we've focussed on helping individuals resume normal life as quickly as possible whilst ensuring they feel safe and protected. Our 30-year heritage in Scotland has enabled us to build a strong bond and trust with various organisations and charities and we're committed to continuing to help these causes as part of our ongoing strategy."

National Services Scotland, Head of Governance for National Procurement Stevie McLaughlin said: "We want to thank Alpha Solway for their support, by matching needs in our communities, their contribution will help enable them to thrive. The Community Benefits Gateway is a new online portal, launched in partnership with National Services Scotland and Public Health Scotland. It's a facilitation platform for NHS Scotland's procurement services to work with suppliers to match with Scottish third sector organisations, where there are many ways to support our communities, such as mentoring.

"The Community Benefits Gateway brings benefits for people and local communities while getting the best possible value from the public money being spent, and the partnerships developed can help improve and assist in the reduction of health inequalities across Scotland"

Action for Children's Director for Scotland Paul Carberry added: "Action for Children is grateful to Alpha Solway for their donation which will help us support the children and families we work with at our Upper Nithsdale Family Service.

"Life was already tough for many of them before the pandemic and it is vital we continue our holistic approach in aiding the recovery of individuals, families and communities as we address the issues exacerbated by the past 18 months.

Our Upper Nithsdale Family Service is one of 87 across Scotland and collectively we work with more than 200,000 children, young people and families each year.

"This donation will enable us to provide the support and stability they need while also giving young children positive experiences including a trip to Blair Drummond Safari Park.

"It will also allow us to deliver our internationally acclaimed Blues Programme at Sanquhar Academy. The wellbeing programme works with young people aged 13-19 to help them with their emotional wellbeing, anxiety and mental health. This kind of support is needed now more than ever as we work to address the mental health issues which have intensified as a result of Covid."