Clutha Tradegy

On Friday 29 November 2013, a police helicopter fell from the sky and crashed through the roof of the bar. The pub was playing host to ska band Esperanza, and was packed with about 100 people when the tragic events began to unfold at 22:22.

In the coming days and weeks, the full extent of the tragedy became clear. Ten people were killed, and the pub was destroyed. We can rebuild the pub, but we cannot bring back the lost lives.

A week or so after the accident three teenagers broke into the pub. Looking for anything valuable that they could get their hands on, they made away with some half-full bottles of spirits and four charity cans.

They were soon caught. The headlines the next day included Scum – Grave Robbers – Looters. We thought differently. Our view was that there were three youngsters with no direction in life. Yes, they were totally wrong but these types of kids need a chance in life………. This is when the Clutha Trust was born'

The Charity

The Clutha Trust charity was incorporated in September 2014. Since then, we have exceeded all expectations and have extended the type of work we carry out. The Covid Pandemic changed everyone’s lives and as a charity, we had to adapt and focus on how we could help our fellow citizens through these challenging times.

Our vision and core values are now returning to pre-pandemic status, and we will continue to drive forward with these. The lessons we have learned during the years of the pandemic are invaluable and the need to help in the community is even greater. Our constitution has been amended to reflect this other type of work we are doing.

Our main focus is to help young people through music, art and drama. We want to give them the chance to express and develop their talents no matter how deep these gifts are hidden. The pandemic has stolen two years from these young lives. We need to give them this lost time back.