OUR BACKGROUND:

We are SKapade Inspirational Development Solutions, an award-winning non-profit company based in music studios in Dumbarton. SKapade is a music training facility for young people, including those from from disadvantaged backgrounds, as well as schools, charities, care homes & youth agencies. Skapade provides a platform for young people to get into the creative industries and work with notable DJ’s and artists. We provide a platform which we wished we’d had growing up within our community. We work with all age groups but our target demographic is under 30’s from NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) backgrounds.

WHY ARE WE CROWDFUNDING?

On the 10th of July, our company van was stolen from Dumbarton at around 4am. It was then sighted leaving Dumbarton at approx 4.30am, passing the BP garage in Milton. Since the terrible incident, we haven’t had any update on the whereabouts of the van or who stole it.

It has been a massive blow to our organisation and our work. The van was our sole company vehicle and was used daily to deliver training and support to young people across the central belt of Scotland. Without transport, our work has been severely hampered and we’re currently struggling to fulfil our commitments and outreach work without adequate transport.

We are looking to raise a sum of £2000 to put towards a new van and get us back on the road, so we can continue delivering our programmes to the young people across Scotland. By getting back on the road this means that we can deliver our work to over 1500 young people as planned by the end of the year. In addition to this we are doing an event at the Hydro which is already sold out to over 12,000 young people from schools over Scotland.

ABOUT OUR WORK:

Many creative industry jobs don't require formal training from college/university but require relevant work experience, people skills, administration skills and a basic understanding of the sector. Many members of the SKapade team have no formal training but gained the relevant skills and work experience in the industry to undertake their full-time careers. Two of our current employees were originally workshop attendees, who then came onboard to join the team!

Our work has made a significant difference to over 6000 young people’s lives across central Scotland through talks, workshops, programmes and tutorials in-house at the studio, as well as outside delivery. Our work with young people makes a real difference to our communities! In a recent survey of workshop participants (43 young people aged between 12-24):

90% reported an increase in satisfaction in their lives

80% gained confidence

90% reported an increase in motivation, friendships and career knowledge

70% reported an increase in self-confidence

50% reported increased knowledge in self-employment as a career option

Any donations to help us pay for a new van would be greatly appreciated by all of the team at SKapade> Your support will enable us to get back to offering our full services and serving our communities as soon as possible!

Thank you,

Team Skapade x