Case Studies

Case Study: Health
Medical Detection Dogs
Medical Detection Dogs trains dogs to detect the odour of human disease. It is at the forefront of the research into the fight against cancer and helping people with life-threatening diseases.
Bio-Detection Dogs are trained to find the odour of diseases, such as cancer, in samples such as urine, breath and swabs. Medical Alert Assistance Dogs are trained to detect minute changes in an individual’s personal odour triggered by their disease and alert them to an impending medical event.
Barcapel awarded a grant of £45,000 to assist the research, development and delivery of project activity to improve the quality of life of individuals with Type 1 Diabetes and other diseases.
In taking the decision to award the grant the trustees were influenced by:
- the ambition and expertise of the principal people involved
- the fact the research was innovative and ground breaking
- the trustees commitment to “pump priming” projects
Case Study: Heritage
Willow Tea Rooms Trust
The Willow Tea Rooms Trust was established in 2014 as a charity with the aim of acquiring Miss Cranston’s Tea Rooms at 217 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow. The building is now in ownership of the Trust.
The formal objective is to restore the building to Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s 1903 design whilst ensuring its preservation for subsequent generations. The historic building and its interiors were under threat, but it reopened as ‘Mackintosh at the Willow’ in June 2018. Mackintosh at the Willow will operate as a social enterprise, creating new employment, volunteer, work experience, training and development opportunities.
A partnership with Dumfries House and The Prince’s Trust provides training and employment opportunities for front of house and kitchen staff within the re-opened social enterprise.
Barcapel awarded a £25,000 grant to be used towards the education, learning and engagement costs of the project including outreach programmes with local schools and community groups.
The trustees decision was based on:
- The historical importance of the Tea Rooms as part of Scotland and Glasgow’s heritage.
- The Tea Rooms can be a catalyst for the regeneration of this part of Glasgow
- The increased impact of the partnership with the Prince’s Trust


Case Study: Youth
Scottish Book Trust
Scottish Book Trust is a national charity that believes books, reading and writing have the power to change lives; that a love of reading inspires creativity, improves employment opportunities, mental health and wellbeing, and is one of the most effective ways to help children escape the poverty cycle.
Barcapel awarded a grant of £20,000 to deliver ‘Reading Buddies’, a shared reading project that involves older pupils and parents sharing a love of reading with younger reading buddies in their school. The older pupils and parents read three carefully selected picture books to their reading buddies. Pupils are then encouraged to vote for their favourite book as part of the Bookbug Picture Book Prize and hold a celebration event during Book Week Scotland with parents and guardians.
The Trustees of Barcapel were influenced by:
- the professionalism of both the organisation and the application
- the need to tackle literacy problems in Scottish children and adults
- the potential intergenerational impact of the project