The Clyde Coast & Cumbraes Mens Shed is becoming more and more integrated into the community everytime we open our doors, we are being asked to make or repair more and more varied items by the public, Local charitable causes & local businesses, which gives the membership a great sense of achievement and a feeling belonging to the community, which improves their mental health and wellbeing. 

We held evening sessions with the Scottish Womens Institute & the Largs Boys Brigade on seperate nights, which were greatly received and has lead to us organing evening session with both groups which will help to teach them new skills and hopefully develop into something that can use in the future.

The breakdown of costs for the funding is as follows.

1. For 2 Erbauer Impact Drivers £199.98
2. For 1 Erbauer Impact Wrench £69.99
3. For 2 Trade screw Packs £139.98
4. For 10M of 220mmx 20 Planed Pine £248.88 at current prices
5. For 50M of 150 x 19 Rough sawn Fence palanks £220.40 at current prices
6. For 20M of 47x50mm Rough sawn timber £101.00 at current prices

Description:   Our CWAS Chapter in Largs provides outings of between 20 and 90 minutes along the Promenade for residents in care homes, and individuals at home, giving them spells of fresh air and conversation, plus seeing life along the shore.  The visual stimulation and conversations along the way are hugely beneficial to their physical and emotional wellbeing.

The outings (jaunts) take place on our ‘trishaw’ (see photo) which is powered by one of our volunteer pilots (assisted by a battery) and carries a deserving passenger plus a carer or relative.  We are also happy to take out disabled people of all ages, special schools and children’s and adults’ hospices.

Benefits to Volunteers: The volunteers, once trained and qualified, get a chance to be part of something that makes a real difference to the lives of those in their community. They form friendships and, from the stories they hear on the rides, learn more about their locale. Plus they develop important social skills and their own health will benefit from the exercise and fresh air.  All our volunteers find it a hugely rewarding activity.

Benefits to Passengers:  Our service helps address loneliness and isolation for the elderly and those of all ages less mobile in the local community but it can also be a lifeline to able-bodied people who may have experienced mental health challenges. This unique befriending service is often the highlight of a passenger’s week and something they look forward to.

With an unrestricted view and interested, lively company, fresh air, a slow pace and the chance to interact with passersby (old friends and new), the rides are a highly stimulating experience for many who spend much of their time indoors and on their own. The CWAS Trishaws provide a sustainable form of recreation providing access to the fantastic scenery to those who would otherwise be unable to enjoy those routes. In addition, the opportunity for rides will allow community events to be more inclusive and accessible.

Seeing other people and places stimulates both the mind and the body and leaves the person feeling happy and even those who have memory impairment are left with feelings of elation.

Breakdown of Costs:  We are seeking funding to cover the cost of operating our booking system for the next two years.  This is made up of:

1. Mobile Phone pay-as-you go costs of £10 per month for 24 months => £240
2. Online TeamUp Calendar at £9 per month => £216

We would like to run a banded table tennis tournament at Inverclyde Sports Centre this season. A banded tournament would bring to Largs approximately 60–70 players from across Ayrshire and Glasgow for an afternoon's competitive table tennis. Hall hire for 5 hours would be £440. This would be a once-a-year annual event, and as such the cost of the hall hire does not constitute rent for the normal week-to-week running of our club.

 We also need some equipment for our club for the new season. First off, we would like to purchase a training robot to help elevate the skill levels of our existing members. A training robot is also a big draw for younger players. Secondly, we would also like to purchase some new bats, as the ones we currently have are poor and not suited to developing players.

Breakdown of costs:

Hall hire for banded tournament: £440

Entry-level training robot: £200

Starter bats x 8: £80

Intermediate bats and rubbers x 5: £200

Balls (2x120): £75

Total: £995

We currently have £550 in our club account and are able to put £300 towards costs, so we are applying for a total of £695.

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Largs Table Tennis Club attracts people from across the North Coast, including Fairlie, West Kilbride, Skelmorlie and Inverkip. Almost two years ago we took advantage of the fact that our town enjoys a state-of-the-art sports facility and a wide array of table tennis equipment by opening our own club in the town. Largs is fast becoming a hotspot of Scottish table tennis; in March, the centre hosted the Scottish Nationals, and in July, Inverclyde hosted the Scottish Parkinson’s International for the second year running. One of our coaches, Paul Carson, attended a supplementary course at the Scottish Parkinson’s International designed to better prepare coaches for people with Parkinson’s attending the club. We have members with Parkinson’s and members with MS. Table tennis is renowned in sports circles for its benefits to people with degenerative and neurological conditions. We aim to embrace all people at our weekly sessions; it is an open group, and you can regularly find a ten-year-old playing with a sixty-year-old, and young and old mixing with people with various disabilities. We are very proud of this fact.

Our club is open to all ages and to encourage everyone we only charge £5 for the two hours session and we have made it FREE for under 18s.

This proposal will provide a fund to create professionally designed event boards, which will be displayed in the Largs Community Council Garden, adjacent to the A78. These will be in A1 size, and provide details in large font of:

• Event
• Date 
• Location
• Website 

It is clear that social media and even print media has limitations to reach, not least because we find that the older demographic do not engage social media, and the Largs and Millport News cannot provide endless free promotion. Many people do not find out about events on Social media until AFTER the event. 

The Largs Community Council successfully bid for grant funding for Tourist Information Notices boards which are now in place at the Seafront Car Park. We continue to receive feedback from the community that they 'didn't know that was on', whether for Yuletide, Community Cinema or other events and this proposal seeks to address a gap in providing information to those in the area. 

It is intended that this fund is used on a 'per event' basis, to allow non-profit groups the opportunity to promote their event to a large audience, without being burden with the cost. LCC are minded to engage with groups such as The Boys Brigade, Parent Councils, Mens Shed, Largs SWRI, Largs Community Development Trust, Dementia Friendly Largs, Food Larder, Access to Food, Largs Naz (Community events) and others to help them promote their events, increase footfall and drive success for their groups. 

LCC believe this proposal will:

Support Community Spirit - whilst larger events may have budget to publicity, smaller, voluntary organisations have limited finds, and we believe this proposal will help promote local, community based events, and bring the community together, whether through fairs, cinema screenings, workshops or speaking events. Participation in local events creates community cohesion and helps reduce Social Isolation and promotes feelings of physical & mental health wellbeing 

Health and Wellbeing - Our overall aim is to promote local events, and in doing so, we believe that we can help improve the Health And Wellbeing of the community. We know through our Community Cinema events how much people enjoy and the sense of community it bring about. Largs has a vibrant community sector and the more people engaged, the better for everyone. 

Cost of LIving - LCC Access to Food supports Community based Food Events and learning to cook projects and fundraising events ie "tea dances". This provides a sustainable way for individuals and families to prepare healthy but low cost food during the cost of living crisis. Whilst attendance has been increasing, the more people that are aware of events, the more who can benefit. Hard to reach families may not be aware of the events and this is a way they can find out without any stigma, quite the opposite. 

Green Projects -  As referenced above, amongst the groups we intend to engaged to support events are Largs Green Futures and future events to promote growing own produce. The LCC Anti Litter Campaign : plans further Seafront "litter Pick" events which can be promoted, along with other active groups in the area. 

Cost Breakdown:

Budgeted promotion of up to 9 events within 12 month period (if we can 

• A1 (594x841mm) sized print onto 5mm Foamex board £44.50 plus VAT.
• Design per event board expected 1 hour design £45+VAT
• 9 event boards £108inc VAT = £972

(Quotation provided by Largs Print Company. If 4 event boards are ordered at a time, the cost will reduce by £10 per units, which would go towards additional boards)

It should be noted that boards will be designed to be reuseable - where an event is recurring annually (for example, school fairs, Dementia Walk, Yuletide etc), the DATE section can be overlaid with this is it anticipated that the number of events that will be promoted will be at least three fold if not more. LCC will stored all boards to future reuse. 

As a small group..we are creating a garden/space for all to enjoy.

A way of giving back to our community

A year ago we took ownership of a desolate,drab and weed-filled area..a year later we have transformed it into an oasis of calm..so important for mental health. We have a spot full of insect life..all our plants are bee/butterfly/pollinator friendly so important as this will be our village legacy for the next generation of up and coming gardeners.

The environmental benefits are exponential.

The village now has a focal point,a meeting place,somewhere to chill.

Our young people have a safe place to access.

Thanks to last years PB award we have a Wee Library..and a large planter filled with pollinator-friendly plants..both built by  Clyde Coast and Cumbrae Men's Shed

Our next wee project is the area at the entrance to the CC..we've already sited a planter full of polinator-friendly plants.

Seating in this area affords views to the hills and also all the play areas too..ideal for parents to watch their kids whilst also allowing them freedom to play.

We would like to purchase two sturdy benches..for the enjoyment of the village of Skelmorlie.

The benches in mind cost £75 pounds each.

They are made locally by a woodcrafter in Dalry.

Total cost would be £150

We are a local, volunteer run club that provides instruction in the Martial Art of Shotokan Karate to adults, youth and children. Karate teaches self respect, discipline, respect for others and the importance of healthy exercise. We have run various courses bringing world class instructors to the local area as well as taking part in local, national and international events and competitions. Any money taken in fees helps fund our courses and subsidise our students competition entry fees and or travelling costs.

As a local sports club we are keen to promote positive mental wellbeing as well as physical health, we encourage our members to participate at their own level of fitness whilst providing a variety of exercises to work towards improving their overall fitness and skill level. We have a code of conduct which ensures our members are supported and have polices in place to ensure our club is an inclusive space where participants feel welcome and respected. 

The provision of t-shirts with the club logo will help to raise the profile of the local area and also instil a sense of pride and connection to the area in our students. This will help our members to develop community spirit through a sense of belonging. We hope this will also encourage new members to join enhancing our community. 

The ability to provide these t-shirts at no or little cost to the students also prevents anyone feeling  marginalised in this current difficult financial climate. This will ensure equality and finacial inclusion during the cost of living crisis. This will make joining the Karate club more accessable for those who may not have the finacial resources to access similar activites that require equipment or clothing to participate. 

As a club we are passionate about the enviromental impact. We encourage our members to walk or wheel to the club training sessions where possible as a way to promote positive change to reduce our carbon footprint and encourage enviromental awarness, to this end we are looking at ecologically sound t-shirts utilising organic and recycled materials where possible..

We would seek to purchase around 60 t-shirts as this would allow us to distribute them to our current members as well as encouraging new members to join. 

Purchase of 30 Adult T shirts with logo, including set up cost for logo £400 

Purchase of 30 Kids T shirts with logo: £300.00