The Vennel Friends Irvine Discovery Group are based at the Vennel Gardens Engagement Hub. The group has been active since May 2023 and has 15 registered members. The group offers a social setting with the opportunity for participants to complete the Discovery Award, comprising of the bronze, silver and gold levels. The Group aims to enhance the lives of all those over 50 years of age and to provide an incentive, through personal challenges, to lead a happy, healthy, and active life.

Choices Community Shop is a community food project set up by volunteers in the community to provide food with dignity to those in need. The funding will be used to help reduce the impact of poverty within the community based on individual needs. Our Community Shop has capacity to support approximately 100 households per week but with over 400 registered, many have to wait. This grant will allow for more households to be able to get support when they need it by getting access as required.

Irvine Camera Club will host public photography walks in North Ayrshire, providing photographic help and advice (artistic and practical) to anyone who attends. We will follow this up with a Photography Competition open to enter to anyone residing in North Ayrshire. We will judge the competition and award prizes to the winners. As a result of this work, we propose to curate an exhibition of the best images at the Harbour Arts Centre (HAC)

From March to late September our cricket members, 13 years + to the adults prepare our cricket wickets for our games by scarifying, spiking, rolling, grass cutting as well as thatch and weed removal. As the season goes on we need to regrow, repair, reseed, fertilise and cultivate these cricket wickets, using our cricket covers for heat, germination and rain protection. This allows us to recycle, reuse the current wickets and cricket square as our ongoing Green Initiative.

We have looked at ways to increase relaxation spaces across our school community and are looking to add more Rainbow bench table & chairs to our infant area. This has been a successful community shared space area for the senior end. We  would like to mirror this for the infant pupils so they can also have this opportunity for an outdoor community space to promote their relaxation & wellness. We would also be looking to add some umbrellas to the tables for both the senior & infant areas.

Glebe Primary School prides itself on its values of Respect, Responsibility, Creativity and Kindness. We have a very small but very active combined PTA/PC who are constantly looking at ways to enhance our schools’ pupils experience both inside and outside the school. We work hard to fundraise for all kinds of activities for the children including school trips, discos and themed events proving treats to all the children throughout the school year.

We are looking for funding to put towards the club, it helps bring young people off the streets and learn how to look after their wellbeing. The club is open to everyone aged 5-95.