Underwater hockey anyone? Yes, it’s a thing. And it’s what Blythswood’s fundraising manager does for fun. Neill Prentice’s acquaintance with Blythswood goes back a long way. At 17 he was part of a team from Milburn Academy, Inverness, who volunteered to help run a camp for the children from Talita Kum, Blythswood’s after-school programme in western Romania. There, in the Black Sea, he taught the children to swim.

It was a time of personal growth for Neill, too. Brought up in Culloden Baptist Church where he is now a member, he reckons he was a believer at 13 but was not baptised until the year he left school. In 2010, he joined Blythswood teams in India and in Eastern Europe, putting to good use the skills in film-making which he was studying at university in Edinburgh. Since then Neill has worked in retail, in advertising and as a youth worker with CYC in Inverness. He has taught film-making to school children at Edinburgh Film Academy.

Since joining the fundraising team in February of this year, he has produced short videos for Blythswood’s appeals, enabling Jeremy Ross to engage with those who are more inclined to watch and listen than to read. Neill’s first-hand experience of Blythswood’s projects helps him to explain what the organisation does and to encourage support.

“I want to thank all who invited me to come and talk,” he says. “My message is that Blythswood is more than just the Shoe Box Appeal. Looking forward to 2025, I’m keen to strengthen relationships, to attract new support and to keep in touch with our long-term supporters.”

To invite Neill to speak to your church, school or other group, email neill.prentice@blythswood.org or call 07970 588 976.