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.

The North Stevenston Community Association is dedicated to supporting the local community in North Stevenston. However, financial limitations are hindering our ability to provide free events to the community, especially to vulnerable groups such as children and those over 50 who are affected by financial challenges, food crises, and isolation.

Community Challenges: North Stevenson is a financially challenged area, making it difficult for many families to afford necessities, especially food and activities. This has led to an increased reliance on anti-poverty support and often isolation. Christmas is a special time of year and we would like to help people make positive memories of 2024.

Community Events: To address these challenges, we aim to provide festive events for the community. An all-the-trimmings Christmas lunch &  Free family event including a visit from Santa, a gift, and entertainment. 

Budget Requirements: To successfully organise these events, we require funding support totaling £1000, allocated as follows: - £450 for the Christmas Lunch 3 course 50+ for food and entertainment  - £550 for the Free  kids’ and family Santa event

Activity Costs: Over 50s Christmas lunch -We estimate a guest list of approximately 60 individuals for Christmas lunch and plan to utilise the funds towards 3-course Christmas meals, table settings, crackers, and entertainment. For the kids and family Santa event, we expect approximately 100 children to attend, and the budget will cover expenses for a photo booth, decorations, a disco and DJ, and small gifts or selection boxes.

Impact and Community Resilience: The funding to enable these events will provide temporary joy and enhance community interaction and resilience. Our hall venue allows for positive interactions and offers a supportive environment to strengthen social networks and general well-being within the community.  We would like to increase our services to support people locally and will use the opportunity to highlight our anti-poverty and activity-based program to provide support when needed. 

Conclusion: If the funding is successful, it will enable the Association to bring joy to kids and improve the lives of those in need. It will also encourage local engagement for the development of our service provision in line with local needs and wants.

We hope to apply for support towards contributing to our Trips (£500) and a Christmas Dinner (£500).

If we were to be sussessful with the funding the money would help us offer the community the free meal & hot drink 3 times per week so they are able to come along sit in the heat get a hot meal and a wee chat with friends or just to see some friendly faces in the cafe. We would love to offer this throughtout the day from morning to later afternoon as we know people have different circumstances in life and may not be able to get out early and also we want to encourage parents to come in before the school pick up as we know with the cost of living parents may skip a meal and this way they have had something warm to eat before heading home. Also we encourage anyone coming along to the cafe to charge any devices they may have including mobility scooters to try help them save some of their own electricity. We are here to help with any calls that may need to be made regarding any home issues they have, for exmaple if they have any issues with gas or electric and they are unsure how to call for help or advise. 

Cost for running over 3 days per week for 12 weeks

Food cost per week £120

£100 per week for hot drinks

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.

Building on the tree planting work we have undertaken in Holm Plantation over the past two years, we plan to plant several hundred Bluebell bulbs in the woodland areas at the site and plant an additional 20 apple trees in the community orchard we recently planted there. This would be the latest part of our ongoing attempts to make this greenspace more diverse, interesting and attractive.

The funding we are applying for would be spent as follows:

- £250 for Bluebell bulbs.

- £706 for 20 apple trees, inlcuding delivery.

We've created a Suicide Prevention Information Directory to act as a lifeline for anyone having thoughts of self-harm and/or suicide.  We distribute as many booklets as we can along with posters with a QR Code link to the online version. 

The funding we're applying for would allow the group to:

• Distribute more booklets and posters across the community
• Reach more mental health organisations, local businesses, and education centres
• Reach more people living with poor mental health and wellbeing due to isolation, bereavement, addiction, food insecurity, and the cost of living crisis
• Reach those who have fallen through the net, the hardest to reach, the most marginalised
• Build community spirit by attending mental health and public networking events and coordinating training and holding events

The funding we're applying for would be spent as follows:

• Poster Production costs (printing and laminating)
• Travel, Event and Training costs
• Promotional Materials for networking and public events including:

• Branded Pens
• Branded Keyrings/Trolley Tokens
• Branded Tops
• Branded Banner

Expansion of the facilities of the Community Corner - £200

Provision of hot beverages, soup, sandwiches and biscuits- £800