Turcan Connell and Rock Trust: A year of colleague collaboration to make an impact on the fight against homelessness

Turcan Connell is proud to represent Rock Trust as their charity partner for 2023-25 and delighted to have undertaken a range of charitable initiatives with them since the relationship began in the Spring. Rock Trust is a Scottish-based charity that works with young people between the ages of 16 - 25 who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Their goal is to help rehabilitate and educate individuals to prevent this issue in Scotland, where over 32,000 people were assessed as homeless in 2022/23. Louise Johnston, a partner at Turcan Connell and head of the firm’s charity committee, talked about Turcan Connell's vision in its collaborative partnership with Rock Trust:

“Homelessness is a real issue impacting the youth of Scotland and, as a firm who strives to support accessibility, Turcan Connell feels very much aligned with supporting Rock Trust’s aim of ensuring every young person has the tools and access to help to move on from homelessness and smoothly and safely transition into adulthood. Over the two-year partnership with Rock Trust we will be working closely with the charity to raise as much money as possible and, in turn, make a difference in young people’s lives.”

Our partnership started with a Charity Hockey Tournament in August, a high-spirited event hosted by Turcan Connell at Goldenacre playing fields and attended by many professional firms and businesses from across Edinburgh. The tournament featured sportsmanship and camaraderie, accompanied by a BBQ, raffle, and a silent auction. These efforts raised an impressive sum of nearly £10,000, setting the bar high.

The TC “summer of sports” fundraising initiatives ended with the Buccleuch Property Challenge in September, which saw a team of Turcan Connell colleagues endure six hours of non-stop physical activity, including mountain biking, running, and orienteering. The perseverance of these colleagues paid off with the raising of more funds for Rock Trust.

As the temperature began to drop in Autumn, Rock Trust turned the heat up, organising the hottest fundraising event of the year, a daring Fire-walk. This event saw two of Turcan Connell’s colleagues courageously walking across a two-meter bed of red-hot embers in November with many other colleagues turning up to show support. This empowering endeavour symbolised the important work of Rock Trust and its partners in helping young people move one step closer towards a life away from homelessness.

The arrival of December brought out the holiday spirit, with the office decorated in tinsel and our iconic Christmas tree making its annual appearance in the Edinburgh and Glasgow offices. Embracing the festive spirit, colleagues engaged in a wide range of charitable Christmas activities, showcasing their creativity through a Christmas card competition and their craftsmanship and baking skills with a Christmas fair featuring the various crafts of talented colleagues and a treat-filled bake sale.

2023 highlighted our colleagues’ commitment to ending youth homelessness, thinking outside of the box to come up with new and inventive ways to fundraise for Rock Trust, and we have no doubt we will see the same energetic efforts carrying on throughout 2024.