A 26-strong team from Johnston Carmichael, including ten graduates from the Audit team, will lace up their boots for Scotland’s favourite mass participation charity event this Sunday, raising funds for Children’s 1st.

With a culture of investing in its people, and inspiring leaders and future leaders, the firm is also committed to supporting the communities in which its 850-plus people work and live and through Kiltwalk it has raised over £45,000 to date for numerous charities across Scotland.

The accountancy and business advisory firm has been a gold sponsor of the Kiltwalk, which takes place in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, and Aberdeen, for seven years. In addition to each office nominating a local charity, the firm encourages its people to select a charity close to their hearts.

Audit Partner, Grant Roger, and his family have chosen to support LGBT Youth Scotland as they take on the 15-mile Big Stroll from Musselburgh to Murrayfield Stadium at Sunday’s event.

Grant has completed the walk every year since joining the firm in 2017 and has supported different local charities each year, including STV Children’s Appeal, My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, and Maggie’s Edinburgh. He believes it is important to give back to those less fortunate than himself and this year his three children, Ailsa, Katy, and Maeve, chose the charity. He explains:

“My kids have supported me over the years, coming along to cheer me on during the walk, and this year all three are old enough to take part in the longer walk. They’ve been learning about equality in school, and they recognise that discrimination still exists toward young people within the LGBTQ+ community so they’ve decided that we should walk in aid of LGBT Youth Scotland.”

He continued: “Walking for six or seven hours is not a lot in the grand scheme of things and the money I have raised over the years goes towards helping people who may be struggling or those who are in a less fortunate position than we are as a family.”

LGBT Youth Scotland is Scotland’s national charity for LGBTQ+ young people and works with 13–25-year-olds across the country to support them to flourish and thrive in all aspects of their lives through the provision of youth work and supporting LGBTQ+ young people to use their voice and create change.

Nurturing, celebrating, and developing the individuality of its people, is integral to the culture at Johnston Carmichael and this goes beyond the company and into the communities where it works. The firm aims to raise the aspirations and achievements of young people and it recently announced a partnership with Netball Scotland, to strengthen the reach and profile of netball in Scotland and engage a lost generation of players, particularly girls, who missed out on the sport due to the pandemic.

Supporting Netball Scotland and sponsoring Kiltwalk is part of the firm’s ambition to leave a legacy for future generations and this goes beyond fundraising. Events like Kiltwalk bring people from different stages of their careers together, which helps build camaraderie. Grant said:

“Since I joined Johnston Carmichael, I’ve always felt it was important to take part because the Kiltwalk is great for team building and I encourage our young graduates to get involved too. It’s a good way to meet and bring many people from across the company together at different levels of seniority, allowing junior and more experienced team members to do something challenging together.”

To sponsor Grant and his family and support LGBT Youth Scotland click here.