THE Peter Vardy Foundation, launched by Glasgow-based automotive giant Peter Vardy Group, is celebrating the success of its One Child charity campaign, which has benefitted more than 8,000 children in just 18 months.

The campaign, run in partnership with UK-based international development charity Fields of Life, aims to feed, educate and clothe vulnerable children in East Africa and has seen the automotive dealer donate approximately £1.26m since the relationship began in early 2017.

The Peter Vardy Foundation exists to improve the lives of vulnerable children and young people both locally and abroad, working closely with organisations such as Fields of Life to see lives and communities transformed through support, education and care.

The Foundation originally decided to sponsor a child’s education through Fields of Life on behalf of every member of staff, initially supporting about 800 children, but following a visit to East Africa, to see the work of the charity first hand, the level of support was increased substantially.

Peter Vardy, CEO of Peter Vardy Group, said: “My family had supported Fields of Life in the past and we were impressed by the life-changing work being done, I knew it would be something the Foundation would love to get behind. After sending a small team out to Uganda through Fields of Life in 2016 and seeing the incredible impact that this initiative made to the lives of children, we knew there was still so much to be done.”

The ground-breaking One Child campaign was launched shortly after this visit, providing communities and 20 schools in the region with agricultural programs to enable them to feed every child every day, teacher training, scholastic materials, science equipment and new uniforms, all on a grand scale.

The Peter Vardy Foundation contributes £15 on each customer’s behalf for every car sold and up to £5 for every car serviced to the One Child campaign.

Peter added: “It’s a privilege to be able to work alongside Fields of Life on the One Child campaign and it’s unbelievably rewarding to know we are making such a difference to the lives of so many children who all deserve the chance to realise their potential and learn the skills to help them break the poverty cycle.

“Myself and everyone at the Peter Vardy Group look forward to continuing our work with the organisation and further growing the campaign so even more children and communities can benefit.”