THE director of a charitable foundation had a ball when he came to see how a £35,000 donation to Kibble education and care centre had been spent. John Ledlie flew up from London and got his jacket off for a kick-about with the kids from Kibble on the new all-weather sports area, which was built with the money from the Peter Harrison Foundation. Kibble, in Paisley is the only organisation in Scotland to be given a grant from the foundation, which helps provide sports facilities for disabled or disadvantaged young people.
The synthetic surface sports area means the boys at Kibble can play football or basketball outdoors all the year round.
Peter Harrison is a multi-millionaire who built up his information technology business in the 1980s and 1990s and later sold it for £300 million. He then started his charitable foundation with a donation of £30 million from the sale of the business.
Mr Ledlie had visited Kibble last year after the organisation had applied for a grant.
He said: “I was very impressed with the way Kibble provides an extremely caring and professional service for the boys there.
“I was also impressed at how Kibble is managed as a business. Since Peter is a businessman himself, he is looking to help people who can help themselves.
“It’s the sort of ethic that Peter values.”
Mr Ledlie added: “Peter is keen to have sport as an integral part of the foundation’s programme. He played football and rugby as a young man and sport played a big part in his life.
“It’s confidence-building and encourages self-reliance, discipline and teamwork.”
Graham Bell, chief executive of Kibble – which employs 270 staff looking after and educating more than 100 boys on a residential and day basis - said: “We strive to have the best facilities to benefit the boys at Kibble and we are very grateful to the Peter Harrison Foundation for the money to build this outdoor sports facility.”