AN SNP youth officer donated £2000 to local mental health charities after his “rite of passage” school trip to India was cancelled due to the pandemic.

Luke Buchan, 16, was meant to head off on an adventure around southern India and Rajasthan with classmates, after spending two years raising cash for the trip.

The fifth year Peterhead Academy pupil had been running charity events such as a tombola, Christmas stalls and lucky squares, amongst a whole host of other activities, since 2019.

Unfortunately, the trip was cancelled earlier this year due to the ongoing covid crisis.

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However, Buchan instead spent his summer months working with his local SNP branch in Peterhead on a social media drive and was elected youth officer there.

And, instead of spending the £2000 on himself, Buchan gave half to local mental health support network Men United and the other half to Shirley’s Space, another mental health charity based in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire.

Asked why he chose those charities instead of keeping or spending the cash, Buchan said: “My main thought was that I wanted to keep the money local, because it was local people who helped me raise the money by donation so I wanted to give it back to local people.

“First it was Men’s United that caught my attention, because I’ve noticed in my community that the suicides that happen are mostly young men.

“I felt like donating to Men’s United would be a good thing to do because it focusses on helping men. It was great meeting them.”

He added: “It’s [Shirley’s space] another local charity. I think, especially over these past 18 months, the impact on mental health has been really bad and I know that if I give to Shirley’s space - one, it will be local, and two, it will definitely help anybody that needs it.”

Buchan instead spent his summer locally doorstepping and trying to re-engage members into branch activities, as well as being instrumental in setting up new social media channels for the group.

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He also helped campaign with Karen Adam MSP, who took the seat for Banffshire and Buchan Coast in the May Scottish Parliamentary elections.

David Birkett, convener for the SNP Peterhead branch, said that Buchan’s donations showed he was a “remarkable young man” who was unfazed by the loss of his “life affirming, rite of passage” journey.

He said: “Scotland’s most valuable asset is our people, and in particular young people like Luke, with his continuing activism for his Country, his Community and his Party.

“A young man who despite his own disappointment at the loss of this life affirming opportunity still looked for the positive and reached out to help two very deserving local charities.

“If I had been refunded £2000 when I was a teenager I shudder to think what it may have been spent on. But I strongly suspect it would have involved asking older boys to buy cheap alcohol from the local shops.

“No good would have come from it and I’d have nothing tangible to show for it today.

“Luke is a remarkable young man, in the short time I’ve known him I’ve been so impressed with him.

“The reason this country will have a bright future as an independent country is because it has young people like Luke.”

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Sandy Garvock, founder of Men United, said: “Luke’s generous donation is greatly appreciated. We are a small charity with a passion to help men speak up about how they feel.

“Donations like this help us to promote and develop our group. Men United has helped over 250 Men in the two years we have been running and it's through donations we can keep up going.”

Shirley’s Space thanked Buchan for his donation on Facebook, writing: “We are honoured to have received this generous donation, and cannot thank Luke enough.”

Men United can be contacted on Facebook or via their website for confidential support.

Shirley's Space are also on Facebook and can be contacted at  info@shirleysspace.com