Water Plus partners with Teenage Cancer Trust to boost youth support in Scotland – Scottish Business News

More hours of support work are happening in Scotland, thanks to additional actions by business water retailer Water Plus, which has a Glasgow base – providing extra help needed by young people, including for their mental wellbeing and relationships, throughout their treatment for cancer.

It marks the start of a major new charity partnership with Teenage Cancer Trust, under the additional steps Water Plus is taking to support communities and drive positive impacts.

The two-year partnership will see hundreds of more Youth Support Co-ordinator hours provided in Scotland – through Water Plus awareness-raising and fundraising for Teenage Cancer Trust.

Water Plus, which has more than 10 staff in Scotland, wanted to widen the positive impacts it can have to help young people in Scotland, where it has customers.

An initial 25 Youth Co-ordinator hours have been funded in Scotland, providing support for young people – to start the partnership. Water Plus is also continuing to raise awareness about regular checks employees can take, for their health – and sharing resources and information.

Teenage Cancer Trust funds specialist nurses, youth support teams and hospital units, including in Edinburgh and in Glasgow, to provide the very best care and support during treatment and beyond, applying funds raised to the areas of greatest need.

Alex Dawson, Senior Relationship Manager at the Teenage Cancer Trust, said: “It’s fantastic to receive additional support through this new partnership with national business water retailer Water Plus.

“Youth Support Co-ordinators work alongside Teenage Cancer Trust nurses and wouldn’t be there for young people if it wasn’t due to funding from partners, so joining our efforts with Water Plus will deliver meaningful and positive impacts.

“Our Youth Support Co-ordinators provide vital support alongside our nurses, to ensure all our young people have the emotional support needed following a cancer diagnosis. They help with all sorts of things, including helping answer the questions young people have – ones that they, at times, cannot ask families – and, ultimately, helping to navigate the cancer they face and its surrounding impacts.”

Tony McHardy, Corporate Managing Director at Water Plus, met one of the Teenage Cancer Trust’s nurses at a hospital, with an enhanced space for young people facing cancer – to mark the partnership’s start and hear more about the support provided.

Tony McHardy said: “It’s fantastic to start our partnership with making a positive impact right from the beginning, with essential support for young people facing cancer. It was great to meet a Teenage Cancer Trust nurse and some of the fundraising team, as we launched our joint effort to make sure every young person facing cancer has excellent support and care.”

Water Plus won a Better Society Award, in 2024, for Communication and Education for its work with customers and its colleagues around water management, including delivering water-saving in large-scale projects and cutting carbon emissions and energy use.

There are 92 Teenage Cancer Trust nurses and Youth Support Co-ordinators and 28 specialist cancer units built-in hospitals across the UK. Every day, seven young people in the UK hear the words “you have cancer”.

Water Plus, which works with organisations, including hospitals and other the public sector sites, providing water retail services including customer service and account management, meter reading, water-saving site audits and additional water tracking technology, is also part of a Careers Hub and a Careers Enterprise Programme to encourage young people into work in the future.

To find out more about the Water Plus actions in communities, see: www.water-plus.co.uk/about-us/corporate-social-responsibility-sustainability  and see the JustGiving page – and donations to Teenage Cancer Trust can be made at: www.justgiving.com/page/teenagecancertrust-and-water-plus .

In the partnership, Youth Co-ordinator hours are also being funded in England, providing support for young people.