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Award-winning Inverurie business hails partnership with local charity


By Chris Cromar

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Inverurie based electric retailer, Booths Scotland has recently partnered up with charity Fly Cup Catering and both hope the partnership will help the charity move to the next level.

Booth Scotland, which is located in Inverurie's Burn Lane, recently won the ERT Award for Best Independent Consumer Electronics Retailer – Large at an awards ceremony in London.

Owner of Booth Scotland, Trevor Booth has joined the board of Fly Cup Catering, which is based in Blackhall Industrial Estate in the town's Burghmuir Circle and runs a cafe.

Since being established in 2000, the charity has provided training and employment opportunities to many adults with learning disabilities in the catering and hospitality sector.

At the recent Pride of Inverurie Awards 2019, the organisation won the Elevator Dedication to Developing Our Future Award.

This award honoured great teaching, coaching or mentoring from people who demonstrate through their activities, the role coaching and teaching plays in encouraging, transforming lives and inspiring others.

At the Fly Cup, the time a trainee spends at the organisation depends on the individual and their aspirations, as well as the level of training that they have been involved in.

Their training programme tends to last for 18 months, whilst some last up to three years, with trainees getting placements during this time, then employment and community based opportunities after the completion of their training.

Some trainees have been with Fly Cup for a number of years and are now taken on a mentoring role.

Fly Cup Catering operations manager, Jim Saunders (left) and Booth Scotland owner, Trevor Booth (right) are joined by Fly Cup volunteers Moira McWilliam, Chris Skinazi, Audrey Cowie, Nikki Smith and Andrew Stirling. Picture: Chris Cromar.
Fly Cup Catering operations manager, Jim Saunders (left) and Booth Scotland owner, Trevor Booth (right) are joined by Fly Cup volunteers Moira McWilliam, Chris Skinazi, Audrey Cowie, Nikki Smith and Andrew Stirling. Picture: Chris Cromar.

Operations manager of Fly Cup Catering, Jim Saunders said: “With their experience and their achievements, they're able to share their skill sets with others now, so that's really encouraging.”

Trevor had heard about the Fly Cup and when a member of the Friends of Fly Cup visited Booths to see if he could help up in anyway, he visited the organisation.

After visting, Trevor said that he was: “quite smitten with the place and then decided I wanted to see what I could do to help”.

He also said: “I decided to join the board and was luckily enough accepted after visiting the Fly Cup a number of times and being very impressed with the ethos of the Fly Cup and what they were achieving with adults with learning disabilities.”

Commenting, Jim said: “We were really delighted to have the opportunity of having Trevor's support, because there's a number of development issues they want to move forward with.

“Having another business perspective on the board is really helpful in terms of steering and helping us to move forward.”

Trevor hopes to bring his experience to the board, he said: “I hope to be able to support Jim, who I have to say, does a fantastic job here and is making a huge difference to stabilise the Fly Cup, both with the achievements, they are looking to achieve and financially make sure that the Fly Cup stays stable.”

A numerous amount of Trevor's contacts have donated funds to Fly Cup to allow them to buy various different items to replace ageing ones.

Enhancements, such as menu presentation, homebakes presentation and blackboards have all been funded by Booths and Jim said that this investment will; “help us to take Fly Cup to a better level and achieve a better standard of service to offer to the customers”.

Trevor said that it is difficult for charities to get funding and keep going and described it as an; “ongoing challenge that we have enough funds to give the trainees a pleasurable working place and progression”.

He also said that: “the main goal for everybody is the trainees and the development of them” and “my idea is to get the business community to get more involved with the Fly Cup”.

Trevor and other local business personnel are planning a lunch and a laugh early next year to raise funds for the charity, whilst Jim and Trevor are planning monthly themed nights at the venue.

Commenting about Fly Cup's community involvement, Jim said: “We've been encouraged to be part of the community and have taken part in some of the opportunities recently.”

This included their Pride of Inverurie Awards 2019 success, as well as being involved in the Inverurie In Tune Weekend, in which they provided refreshments at an event.

Jim's hopes for the organisation is to continue to “deliver a sustainable, social enterprise, delivering accredited training to more trainees”.

As well as this, he hopes to increase the current number of 42 trainees per week to 50 and support them to get employment opportunities.

Trevor has been impressed by the commitment of the organisation's staff, commenting he said: “What a fantastic job that the staff here do and their commitment to the place and their commitment to the trainees and Fly Cup has floored me, they go the extra mile.”

It is hoped that the cafe will see an increase in customers, which already has a loyal fan base and Trevor said: “Hopefully the changes that they see in here has taken them here.”

Fly Cup produce a wide range of homebakes on site.
Fly Cup produce a wide range of homebakes on site.

As well as being a sit-in cafe, Fly Cup Catering offers traybakes to takeaway, catering to outside business and business lunches and sells some of their bakery products to local retailers, whilst also having two meeting rooms, which are available to hire anytime on site.

Fly Cup Catering is open from Monday to Saturday, 9am to 4pm, to find out more, visit https://www.flycup.org/.


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