The Marymass Flower Show, including the garden and community garden competitions, is held yearly in the Irvine Volunteer Rooms to promote the showing of horticulturally arts and crafts exhibits.

The funding will help us cover the costs associated with the flower show which are increasing every year, this includes hall lets, insurance, judges’ fees and awards. To make the follower show more accessible, we will also be running some talks and demonstrations giving an introduction to horticulture, with a view to getting more people involved with the flower show. The flower show itself is a well-attended event that helps build community spirit with those who take part and have a shared interest.

If we are successful in getting the funding, we hope that the flower show and surrounding interest creates a better knowledge of the natural environment and how to protect it. Growing flowers, having a knowledge of invasive species and community growing initiatives are at the heart of what the horticultural society does, and the funding will help increase public awareness of this.

Hall lets - £500

Insurance £90

Medals for school members and school children - £75

Teas for judges, queens Marys and chaperones - £140

Payment to speakers i.e Talks to all age groups RE. horticulture - £200

TOTAL - £1000

Some children, through no fault of their own do not go to school with a full belly and we as a parent council would like to remedy this but also provide information to the children on the topic.

The way we would plant to do this is would be to launch our 'Breakfast feeds Minds' campaign.  It would be our intention to provide the children in the school weekly breakfast hampers, available to any child who needs it, to ensure they have something healthy and nutritious before their school day begins.  This would include granola bars, cereal pots, yogurt drinks and fruit etc that the children can grab easily but will keep them full until lunchtime.

The funding we are applying for would be broken down as follows

£900 for the purchase of breakfast items (this is based on a budget of circa £35 per week)

£100 for the procurement of literature to promote the importance of breakfast and how this feeds the health and wellbeing of a child

We would use the funding to take all the Pegasus group members on a 2 trips over the next year to bowling and a summer fun day. This would be a real boost to the mental health and wellbeing of all the group members and provide an opportunity that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford. Going away on trips allows the group to bond closer together and link up with each other.

The outing will help improve the mental health and wellbeing of the group members and we will have a higher bus cost due to needing one which is accessible for wheelchairs. Having this outing will improve the lives of people in the local area who have additional support needs and support them to do an activity which would be very expensive otherwise. Going away on trips like this allow group members to form closer relationships and get to know each other better. It also improves the mental health and wellbeing of participants and volunteers who run the group by going away on trips like this.

Breakdown;

£500 bus hire per trip x 2 bus trips

TOTAL - £1000

The Canny Crafters Group is a local sewing and craft group open to all, offering support in crochet, sewing and the art of repurposing old materials into new, creative projects. Based at the Redburn Centre, the group works in partnership with the friends f redburn community group and has been active for around a year. What began with just 4 members has grown to a ful group of 12 participants and two dedicated volunteers. Together htey have created a variety of handmade items, including Christmas wreaths, hand knitted goods and crochet crats and they plan to hot stalls at local events selling their handmade goods to help sustain the group and ensure its continued success.

The group fosters creativity and skill deelopment while offering a warm, commujnity focused atmosphere and for the members attending it has many benefits, including learning new skills, making new friends, and promoting mental well being. It provides a creative outlet, cost free access and a supportive environment where the members can recieve guidance on personal or group projects, enhancing a sense of belonging.

The group would like to apply for the cost of tickets to be able to attend 2 Creative Craft shows at the SECC to see differnt types of crafting and get ide4as for thier own group and also to buy resources such as wool and fbric for future projects.

Breakdown of Costs

Creative Craft Show Tickets March 2025 x 14 £168

Creative Craft Show Tickets Xmas 2025 x 14 £168

Resources such as wool, fabric, patterns etc £350

Total 686

Our charity was set up to provide free transport to the community who were diagnosed with cancer and requires treatment in any hospital within Ayrshire, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Once the patient has had treatment we will continue to support them with transport for non cancer related treatment. We have around 40 volunteer staff within drivers and office staff. None of our staff are paid other than our drivers who are paid mileage expenses. For us to provide this sevice the charity must raise over £65000 per year. All our drivers are paid mileage at 50p per mile which is calculated at 45p per mile plus an additional 5p per mile for extra passengers.

The £1000 would breadown as 14 runs to Glasgow at 71 miles @ 50p per mile = £1000. This would allow us to take a maximum of 42 patients to appointments.

The £1000 to be used for local hospitals (Ayr, Crosshouse and Ayrshire Central) could breakdown as 33 runs to local hospitals @ 30 miles @ 50p per mile = £1000. This would allow us to take a maximum of 99 patients to appointments.

If successful, we will use the funding to buy a new shed for our community garden. The last shed was destroyed by vandals a number of months ago and we have been unable to undertake any work in the community garden as we don't have anywhere to store tools and other resources. 

Trindlemoss use the shed whilst working on the garden, they will learn about gardening skills and the new shed will give us space to keep tools in. They learn about how to grow vegetables, grow flowers and generally take care of a garden.

Children from Castlepark primary will come over and take part in the community garden learning the same skills. 

Volunteers from the centre take part in ad hoc garden maintenance to help tackle social isolation, improving their mental wellbeing and bringing the community together.

New shed - £880 (Keter Factor 8ft x 6ft from B&Q)

Our goal is to continue providing community lunches and providing catering services, working in partnership with other local groups and  bringing all members of our local community together regularly with a focus on alleviating poverty, reducing social isolation and enhancing mental health and well-being. 

Our community group offers  free  lunches,or takes small donations, to all residents within Irvine, many of whom are affected by poverty, poor mental health, and social isolation and these lunches provide a vital lifeline, offering not only nourishment but also a sense of belonging and connection. These meals foster social interaction, breaking the cycle of isolation and helping improve their mental well-being.

In addition to the lunches, having a trained chef as a volunteer the group now offers an external catering service to partner organisations at cost which generates income, enhancing the sustainability of the group and allowing the group to continue supporting the community. Volunteers who help run the lunches and catering service will receive essential training in areas such as REHIS (food safety), hospitality, barista skills, first aid, and customer service. These skills not only equip volunteers to support the efforts but also enhance their employability and confidence, empowering them to make a meaningful difference in their community and benefiting them in other areas of their lives.

In order to achieve this the money provided would help with running costs for the lunches and provide external training for volunteers.

Breakdown:

Running Costs, including food and caretakers costs                         £500.00

Training and admin costs                                                                   £500.00

Total applied for                                                                                £1000.00

When we started out, we found out that the fidget muffs were expensive for the nursing homes and hospitals to buy. After consulting with nurses on the wards at Woodland View and local nursing homes, we decided there was a need for a group to make these for the nursing home and hospitals. We make the fidget aprons/ muffs/ blankets for Woodland View and local nursing homes and donate them free of charge.

The sewing group provides a place for volunteers to work together on a project, reducing social isolation, improving skills and bringing people together to help others in the community. 

Wool (various) - £400 100g ball, £3.58 200g ball, £9.99 300g ball, £11.60

Material (various) - £600 £34.18 per metre £6.99 per metre £25.36 per metre