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Saltcoats Mindful Makers
2024-09-18 • No comments • • Three Towns
Mindful Makers brings together Three Towns adults to combat the adverse effects of loneliness and social isolation with mindfulness. This community group is run by four volunteers (no cost) and comprises weekly Crafting Sessions and a Book Group. Sessions are open to all and free of charge to users. Friday meetings are held in Saltcoats Library where the welcoming environment encourages regular attendance. Week 1: Crafting - a new skill tutored by an organiser; Week 3: Book Group; Weeks 2 and 4: crafting together. Crafting and mindfulness are beneficial and can alleviate the symptoms of anxiety, stress, depression, loneliness and even dementia (craftscouncil.org.uk and verywellmind.com). Sharing experiences can counter depression through a feeling of belonging. Feedback from participants will guide our work and shape our 2025 programme. We use WhatsApp group to share and communicate between meetings, and a new Instagram account will raise awareness.
Our bid for £800 will allow for increasing costs and will (a) continue the provision of free crafting resources so no one is excluded for economic reasons - £500 (b) enable us to continue to provide community and outreach work - £50 promotion, and (c) increase equality of access for disabled members - £250 towards transport. We need to keep our activities free of charge as it becomes harder to budget for activities to help us thrive. Our 2025 development plan calls for an occasional outside maker to lead a session for a reasonable fee. A 2023 field trip was successful, but transport costs suitable for disabled participants are prohibitive, yet because of the weather we need to plan to visit indoor venues relevant to our selected crafts.
We respect sustainability, recycling items wherever possible, and augment our funds through craft sales. We support an average of 14 members at any time - an optimum number given the donated time and effort for organisation.
Feed our Community
2024-09-19 • No comments • • Three Towns
IMC Community Fridge is applying for £1000 for the purchase of amibient and chilled foods to ensure good stock levels during the depths of winter. Many people on prepayment meters have to choose whether to heat or eat and we want to enusre that our community can do both where possible.
£1000 will allow for £100 to be spent per week for a 10 week period to provide soups, ready meals and other tinned produce.
We anticipate that approx 30 household will benefit per week from this provision.
Save Ardrossan Harbour
2024-09-12 • No comments • • Three Towns
Our group has grown from three members into double digits and we have recieved support from Councillors, MSP's and MP's, not to mention local business throughout Ardrossan. Our current project is focused on Ardrossan Harbour. The situation at the harbour has lingered on for years and years and with little to no information being announced and quite frankly the town of Ardrossan is being forgotten.
The Ardrossan to Brodick sailing not only provides the shortest, most efficient, and cheapest lifeline to Arran it is a vital heartbeat of community life on both the mainland and the island. There is constant talk of ferries and crossings and tourism. However, the human factor is rarely discussed and how Ardrossan Harbour plays a big part in the day to day to life of people in the community.
The foundation stone of Ardrossan Harbour was laid on 31st June 1806 and completed in 1864, initially proposed by the 12th Earl of Eglinton. The harbour has been a hive of industry in the town from its early days exporting coal, stone and pig iron to Europe. Contrast that with the situation we see today when the Harbour has been left in a perilous state with its very future on the line.
It may not be the main exporter these days but there is plenty of businesses that are drawn to the harbour and as a result into the town of Ardrossan itself. Businesses on both sides of the crossing suffer the ebb and flow of customers in direct proportion to the number of sailings. These are hard working locals who have chosen to support their town and invest here while providing a service for the community. Without these businesses we will have higher local unemployment, reduced facilities, and abandoned units. Businesses need to be able to plan and a timely process regarding the business case for Ardrossan Harbour would have afforded them option.
The harbour has many more links to the town and communities surrounding it than business. Healthcare plays it role as many islanders attend dentists, doctors, opticians, clinics and hospitals on the mainland. The Ardrossan to Brodick sailing allows this vital healthcare network to function. The infrastructure is there from boat to train to destination in easy, tried and tested ways.
We ask all stakeholders involved; Peel Ports, Calmac, CMAL, North Ayrshire Council and the Scottish Government to plainly lay out all relevant information pertaining to Ardrossan Harbour. The long-delayed business case for the work to be carried delayed time and again with a variety of explanations only serve to sow confusion. There is urgent action needed to save Ardrossan harbour and that needs to be discussed publicly and the route forward needs to be clearly marked out giving everyone in the community an opportunity to plan.
Mistakes have certainly been made along the way and that is inevitable, and nothing is irreversible, however, we at Save Ardrossan Harbour ask clearly for all involved to show respect to the towns and people of the communities affected by the ongoing harbour issues. This can be achieved through open truthful discussion and transparency through every stage of the process.
We aim to ensure that everyone can raise their voice in this matter and our funding will be used to increase our community engagement by organising information/fun days, advertising through leaflets and posters and hiring local venues that will allow us to interact with the public.
Costings:
Hall hire for Civic centre in Ardrossan, Small hall £7.70 per hour = 3 hour booking £23.10
Large hall £15.45 per hour = 3 hour booking £46.35
We would be hiring the hall out to host public meetings and community information and drop in sessions.
We are also planning a fun day to generate interest and buil the groups profile. Inflatables cost £180.80 for 3 hour booking and there would be a DJ at £180 and a buffet in the region of £200.
For these events we would also purchase some pop up banners at a cost of £65 plus vat, two banners roughly £156 including vat.
The remaining funds would be used to purchase leaflets to hand out at these sessions.
Hayocks Over 50+ Club
2024-09-02 • No comments • • Three Towns
We hope to apply for support towards contributing to our Trips (£500) and a Christmas Dinner (£500).
Hayocks Tenants and Residents Group (HTAR) - Community Garden Project
2024-09-10 • No comments • • Three Towns
The HTAR are a group of volunteers who help promote the interests of residents in the area on matters concerning housing, the environment and the social and communication. We meet up monthly based within Hayocks Community Centre
We are planning revamping our existing garden area at the Hayocks Community Centre, which the HTAR hold the lease for into a safe and welcoming community space. This will include a seating area where hall users, or members of the community can sit and rest or socialise. The space will also include a growing area with raised beds built and installed, where members of the community can come and work together to grow and harvest their own fruit and vegetables. These vegetables can then be taken home by members of the community or be donated to the larder within the community centre or used within the existing cafe within the centre. Our existing outdoor area has ramped access therefore this would be accessible for all members of the community
This would build on community spirit and help towards peoples health and wellbeing such as social isolation and promote healthier eating. We are an area of high deprivation and this would allow members of the public a free space to meet up with friends with no additional costs.
Costs
Raised Planters - £510
Compost - £200
Garden Tools - £150
Plants and seedlings - £75
Water Butt - £65
Three Towns Growers (3TG) - Look & Learn
2024-09-20 • No comments • • Three Towns
3TG maintain and manage the Community Allotments, Elm Park, Ardrossan. We are seeking funding to produce 'interpretative' boards to be positioned at key areas within the allotments. These will present visual and textual information. For example, the wildlife pond, and its inhabitants, why biodiversity is important for us all as well as the environment. How the pond benefits growing food. As place to chill and relax and by extension be part of resetting your wellness and mental health. A board at the community & training plot explaining, whats growing and how it is governed by the seasons etc. Three further boards (including a site map and information) at other locations on the site. The fund would buy materials to make the boards from scratch, with volunteers from the allotment’s membership, and importantly volunteers from the communities of the Three Towns working together to construct them. The project will introduce people to woodworking, digital design, desktop publishing, and get them working outside gaining an understanding of biodiversity and growing food all at local level. They will be designed so that information can be changed and updated as and when required. The boards will be part of an ongoing move to encourage people to visit the allotment for leisure and relaxation, to experience the 'outdoors' in a safe space. This project will benefit an estimated 40 participants throughout the construction and placement stages, and further 300 - 400 people using the allotment or visiting.
Costs would be as follows, Clear Acrylic Boards £200, Marine Plyboard £396, Coach Bolts £30, Yacht Varnish £40, fence posts £300, Ducks Black Matt Paint £86, post cement £80. The 3TG will contribute £200 to the project, making a total cost of £1132.
Our Wellbeing Matters - Mayfield Parent Council and Mayfield House Captains
2024-09-20 • No comments • • Three Towns
Vision of Project - Create a Wellbeing Corner and Volunteer Programme of Activities at Lunch time and Afterschool.
We are House Captains of Mayfiled Primary School. We applied to be house captains to lead and support children and young people, to listen to children's views, to work with teachers to help with learning and to encourage volunteering in and outside our school. As school captains, monitors and buddy's we would like the funding to help us grow as leaders. - (House Captain Application and video link to see our ideas)
Project 1 - Volunteer Programme to support Lunch Time and Afterschool Activities (Theme - Health & Wellbeing, Building Community Spirit and Cost of Living).
Our school does not have any lunch time or afterschool clubs. We want to lead on lunch time and afterschool activities and with the help of our teachers and parent council who can help by volunteering their time and help us bring in funding for resources. We would like money from PB to purchase 2 new adjustable basketball stands so the big and wee ones can play. We asked our houses what we needed and went a walk around our school playground. We only have 1 basketball net and its older than Mr Faulds so the JANNIE SAID. We did our research and found these for 249.99 each and we need 2.
Project 2 - Our Wellbeing Corner (Theme - Health & Wellbeing, Community Spirit, Cost of Living and Green Projects)
Part of our walk around we noticed that there is not anywhere for young people to sit together outdoors. We would like to turn a corner of our playground into a wellbeing corner. We would like money for picnic benches and planters. We called a local men's shed. They said if we got the PB money they would make them for us and would only charge us for the wood - We thought this was an absolute BARGAIN!!! The space we looked at you can see the fields behind us and the cows - we thought this area would make the ideal spot. We as Mayfields House Captains want to introduce FUN, FRIENDLY FRIDAYS where pupils will give at least 1 comliment to someone during our lunch time activity. We would also like to use the space when we are volunteering as buddy's and mentors as this is an ideal space to put our planters and we can help the wee people grow vegetable and their confidence. This space would allow us as House Captains to develop our leadership skills using a space that is not used and hopefully recruit more wellbeing wizzards as part of our fun and friendly Friday's.
Basketball Stands 249.99 x 2 = 499.98
3 x Picnic Benches 2 x Planters = 580
Total = 1039.98 (We planning on fundraising for the rest if successful)
Scuba Diving for all
2024-08-27 • No comments • • Three Towns
To teach Scuba Diving we need a pool to provide a safe and contained area for try dives and training future divers. Each year in The Three Towns we aim to support residents from all social economical demographics with the opportunity of learning to dive with North Ayrshire Divers. In 2022 KA Lesure introduced a fee to clubs of £50.00 per night for 1 hours pool hire every Thursday Evening. As a club we are forced to pass this cost on to the people who desperately want to experience this opportunity. As a consequence we had to reduce our sessions from October to April which we originally had, down to January to April. This halved the number of people we could reach within the Three Towns. Getting funding to support these costs would hugely support the physical and mental benefits to new members learning to Scuba Dive.
For each 1 hour session use of the pool at Aucherharvie Swimming Pool we are charged £50.00 - Our pool use runs from October to April we use the pool a total of 6 months this equates total of 26 weeks thus our expenditure is £1300.00 for pool hire.
High Flats Afternoon Club
2024-09-11 • No comments • • Three Towns
We would like to apply for funding to take the residents of Saltcoats High Flats on trips and outings throughout the year. As an older community of people with a range of mobility needs, many of us live by ourselves. We can go days without talking to people. The High Flats Afternoon Club brings us together with the common theme of living in the same buidling.
We would like to be able to book some trips and days out but due to many different mobility needs, such as walking frames, sticks etc, we need accessible transport. Transport is very expensive and if we were to get £800, we could use a varierty of taxis, minibus or small bus hires to take us on some days out.
£500 for transport costs
£300 for entrance fees, food and drink etc.
Saltcoats Christmas Carnival
2024-09-04 • No comments • • Three Towns
The Saltcoats Christmas Carnival was started many years ago to provide Christmas lights in Saltcoats – this evolved over the years and has become a full carnival. This provides a much needed free day out for families in the local community, when everything else related to Christmas is so expensive this event gives some relief from that. The day includes, entertainment all through the town with a staged area with local and up and coming artists performing, including dance schools and primary schools, we will have 3 santas grottos including an ASN grotto (and disco) that will be fully accessible, activities in Saltcoats Town Hall, Santa abseiling from the clock tower and a large fairground. There will also be a mobile cinema street entertainers and a few other surprises!
Main costs:
Fairground £8k
Independent H&S £800
Donations to local groups for support/assisting on day £500
First Aid: £330
Santas Grotto set up, selection boxes and books = £1500
Entertainement - Starlite (staging, PA,) £500
Road Closures, licences, & venue (town hall) £1500
Mobile cinema £200
Abseiling Santa/street entertainment £500
Miscellaneous £1000
Marketing and advertising materials for the event donated by Clyde studios
The event is planned and organised by a small group of volunteers who have skills and experience in different areas. External professionals are brought in for things like Health and Safety, Insurance etc.
On the day we have many groups that help including; ATC, Sea Cadets, Guiding, Scouts, and NAC community officers.
A £1000 donation would help make this event magical and give families memories that will last a long time. In the age we are living in people are struggling more and an event like this not only gives experience and fun but takes some pressure off of parents and caregivers.