KTCMI is a voluntary community group comprising of local residents, businesses, and representatives from various organisations in Kilbirnie.  We organise and fund our annual Christmas Lights Switch On which takes place on the last Saturday in November. This event is open to all members of the community and enjoyed by all ages. 

Our Christmas Lights Switch On has been a tradition for many years, bringing festive joy and cheer to our town and the people and visitors passing through.  The day starts with Santa and his grotto, culminating at the Cross with the big switch on of the Christmas lights. This event is possible thanks to constant community fund-raising activities by KTCMI throughout the year. The Christmas lights themselves are owned by KTCMI, however North Ayrshire Council (NAC) have previously erected, tested and stored the lights from the Council budget.  Sadly, this is not the case for 2024 as budget constraints within NAC have resulted in this vital funding being unavailable.  NAC has agreed to carry out all of the above actions to ensure the lights are safe and in place for our Switch On, but this is going to result in an additional cost of £7,000 for KTCMI on top of the ongoing running costs for example electricty charges, santa gifts etc.  

We are seeking additional funding for the following:

Santa presents for the children £450

Cost towards of hiring a hall for Santa's grotto £300

Cost towards upgrading the grotto by means of new decorations, art work, lights etc. £350

KTCMI are determined that our Toon will be lit up this Christmas and we are seeking help in raising the desired amount - our toon is arranging numerous fundraising events and hopefully these events will contribute towards the cost of the Christmas light switch on.

Cafe Solace Kilbirnie provides low cost meals each Friday at lunchtime and in the evening to the community.   These are very popular with between 30-40 customers at lunchtime and 70-80 in the evening.  Children under 12 or anyone in need eat free.   For some of our customers, we are the only friendly people they will speak to in a week, and it may be the only home cooked meal that they have.   At Christmas we like to make even more special, in particular for those customers who have no family to share the festivities with, and our chef and volunteers prepare a lovely three course traditional Christmas feast and arrange a visit from Santa to present wee gift bags for each of our customers (held over two weeks due to numbers - up to 170).   We do make a nominal charge for the Christmas events, but to avoid hardship to those customers who are struggling financially we heavily subsidise these from our own funds (and children still eat free).   We have been fortunate in receiving support from other areas in previous years to assist with costs and reduce the impact on our funds.   This year, the volunteer team are carrying out some fundraising to pay for the small gifts that we will give our customers (sponsored walk, guess the teddy's birthday etc).   Based on last year's costs (£1,677.39), and the continued increase in food prices, we estimate that we will need to subside the events by around £8-900 from our funds.   Our food costs over the past months have been higher than predicted, due to the unsuitability of much of the food that we are receiving from Fareshare and we are anticipating heavier than normal expenditure in the early part of 2025 as we start to plant out our new vegetable garden.  To enable us to meet our ongoing commitments and still provide a festive treat out for our customers, we are requesting funding of £500 to be put towards the purchase of food required for our Christmas meals (approx £2.94 per potential attendee).   

This funding means that we can enjoy two day trips at approximately £500 each. The cost of a coach has risen sharply but any help offsets this.

We would like to take the members on a day out to the threatre, also provide transport and have a meal after the show. Based on twelve members: Threatre Tickets approx - £480, Meal £240, Transport-minibus £200.