THE Walk With Scott Foundation has donated £18,000 to help three local charities and their work in supporting people across East Lothian affected by the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

East Lothian Foodbank, Wee Red Upcycles and Home-Start East Lothian have joined together in a new project to help as many families as possible during the pandemic.

The Walk With Scott Foundation board were discussing how they could support different areas of the county.

They decided to directly support causes that would have the greatest impact across the whole of East Lothian and donated the money to the project.

Colin McGinn, ward councillor and board member, said: “The foundation is very keen to help East Lothian families and we want to make sure we have a big impact on the county.

“We are tapping into their experience, knowledge and network to make sure we have that impact.

“We were deciding on what our next project would be but no one knew this would happen.

“There’s going to be an increased need for lots of services like the foodbank and Home Start so the damage is going to be

great; the need for them is immediate.

“This money will allow them to fund over their agreed level and to expand to [fulfil] the needs of workers worrying about funds.”

He added: “When Scott [Glynn] started the charity he was very clear he wanted to help local groups, specifically groups who have already started and had groundwork in place but needed an extra push over the line.

“We know that Scott would be 100 per cent behind this.

“We desperately hope that this need is not there in a few months and hope that this will make a difference.”

The money will help buy a number of items such as food, drink, activities for children and other essential items.

The items will be sourced locally to help support local traders during the current crisis.

The Walk With Scott Foundation was started by Scott Glynn seven years ago.

He died on New Year’s Day aged 56.