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Award for Scottish schoolgirl who designed solar-powered blanket to help the homeless
Award for Scottish schoolgirl who designed solar-powered blanket to help the homeless
A creative Scots schoolgirl who graced the cover of Time Magazine after inventing a solar-powered heated blanket to help the homeless has been named the Pride of Scotland. At 11 years old Rebecca Young was so moved by the sight of rough sleepers braving sub-zero temperatures in Glasgow’s city centre, she designed a portable, eco-friendly solution at her school engineering club. The innovative waterproof and flame-retardant heated blanket, integrated into a portable backpack, has flexible solar panels which charge a battery pack during the day, giving up to eight hours of heat. It includes a temperature-sensitive control circuit that automatically switches the heat on and off to conserve battery life. The Kelvinside Academy pupil’s idea came out on top in the UK Primary Engineer competition, where more than 70,000 pupils entered ideas aimed at addressing a social issue. Engineering company Thales turned Rebecca’s idea into a working prototype, with 35 units given to local charities such as Homeless Project Scotland to help rough sleepers in Glasgow, with 120 more in the pipeline. Last August, Rebecca, now 14, was named one of TIME Magazine’s inaugural 10 ‘Girls of the Year’, appearing on a digital cover styled as a LEGO mini-figure. The schoolgirl has also been honoured at Westminster. Rebecca, who has dreams of becoming a drummer with her band, Insubordinate, when she’s older, explained: “Seeing all the homeless people, it made me want to help – it’s a problem that should be fixed. “During the day, the heat from the sun can energise the solar panels and they go into a battery pack that can store the heat. When it’s cold at night people can use the energy stored in the battery pack to sleep on. “In Glasgow it can be freezing at night and they will have no power, so I thought the solar panel could heat it.” Rebecca was hailed a “role model” for young people by Kelvinside Academy rector Daniel Wyatt. The teenager was awarded with the Pride of Scotland Young Hero Award for her innovation at a recent ceremony in Glasgow’s Hilton. The star-studded event hosted by Elaine C Smith and Sanjeev Kohli honoured remarkable unsung heroes, community champions, and inspirational figures from across the nation. Colin McInnes, founder of Homeless Project Scotland, said: “When somebody is having to rough sleep because the shelter is full, we can offer that comfort to wrap around them during the night. We would 100 per cent take the opportunity to have more of them.”
A creative Scots schoolgirl who graced the cover of Time Magazine after inventing a solar-powered heated blanket to help the homeless has been named the Pride of Scotland.
At 11 years old Rebecca Young was so moved by the sight of rough sleepers braving sub-zero temperatures in Glasgow’s city centre, she designed a portable, eco-friendly solution at her school engineering club.
The innovative waterproof and flame-retardant heated blanket, integrated into a portable backpack, has flexible solar panels which charge a battery pack during the day, giving up to eight hours of heat.
It includes a temperature-sensitive control circuit that automatically switches the heat on and off to conserve battery life.
The Kelvinside Academy pupil’s idea came out on top in the UK Primary Engineer competition, where more than 70,000 pupils entered ideas aimed at addressing a social issue.
Engineering company Thales turned Rebecca’s idea into a working prototype, with 35 units given to local charities such as Homeless Project Scotland to help rough sleepers in Glasgow, with 120 more in the pipeline.
Last August, Rebecca, now 14, was named one of TIME Magazine’s inaugural 10 ‘Girls of the Year’, appearing on a digital cover styled as a LEGO mini-figure. The schoolgirl has also been honoured at Westminster.
Rebecca, who has dreams of becoming a drummer with her band, Insubordinate, when she’s older, explained: “Seeing all the homeless people, it made me want to help – it’s a problem that should be fixed.
“During the day, the heat from the sun can energise the solar panels and they go into a battery pack that can store the heat. When it’s cold at night people can use the energy stored in the battery pack to sleep on.
“In Glasgow it can be freezing at night and they will have no power, so I thought the solar panel could heat it.”
Rebecca was hailed a “role model” for young people by Kelvinside Academy rector Daniel Wyatt.
The teenager was awarded with the Pride of Scotland Young Hero Award for her innovation at a recent ceremony in Glasgow’s Hilton.
The star-studded event hosted by Elaine C Smith and Sanjeev Kohli honoured remarkable unsung heroes, community champions, and inspirational figures from across the nation.
Colin McInnes, founder of Homeless Project Scotland, said: “When somebody is having to rough sleep because the shelter is full, we can offer that comfort to wrap around them during the night. We would 100 per cent take the opportunity to have more of them.”