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Cumbrae SWI (Scottish Women's Institute) known locally as Cumbrae Rural

Investment project code: 38

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Location: Isle of Cumbrae

Proposed on behalf of: Many people on the island, particularly older people living alone, can find the long winter months a difficult time and appreciate being able to meet up with others in a warm, welcoming place where they can spend a few hours learning new skills, chatting to others and making new friends. Although we often invite local people to speak, our meetings are enriched when we can afford to bring some of speakers over from the mainland by covering travelling costs and also any materials used in demonstrations. In 2021 a declining aging membership, and the effects of the pandemic, had a significant impact on our organisation, with numbers regularly being in single figures at our meetings. Last year, in an attempt to invigorate our group post Covid we successfully applied for funding which enabled us to enhance our activities and greatly increase our membership by attracting new, younger members! We now need to consolidate this progress, while hopefully continuing to attract new members. Additional funding is needed to help us do this! Cumbrae Rural holds monthly meetings from September to April. With the cost of living crisis there have been many cutbacks in local authority resources, including a reduction in planting and caring for flower beds around the town. A number of our members have expressed an interest in planting out and caring for a planter / flower bed if funds could be found for plants. This activity would be undertaken May to September 2023 and would provide a context for some members to socialise over the summer months, in addition to promoting civic pride and active citizenship. In addition it will help make Millport’s frontage more attractive for visitors. This idea may even be an impetus for some other island groups / businesses to undertake a similar activity in the future! Recently we have been focussing on ways to be more environmentally aware and our members have made a list of ideas to enable them to be more ECO conscious. We have also designed have printed printed ECO tea towels, for circulation around the town, thereby raising awareness of environmental sustainability. We are planning on following up this activity by participating in a Beach Clean organised by the local Field Studies Centre. We intend participate in a beach clean in April / May 2023 Some of our members do not travel widely on the mainland and would appreciate a bus trip to somewhere of mutual interest, especially at a time where many are struggling to pay their bills and do not have money to pay for ‘treats.’ The timing of this would require to be discussed with members but likely to be November 2023