Project Overview:

We are seeking funding to purchase belay devices for the Mountain Rescue Team, an essential piece of technical rescue equipment used to safely control ropes during rescue operations. Belay devices are critical in helping manage abseiling and climbing activities, enabling rescuers to assist individuals in hazardous terrain with minimal physical effort. These devices provide friction on the rope, ensuring controlled descents and the ability to arrest falls, making rescues safer and more efficient.

Objective:

Our objective is to improve the safety and efficiency of the Mountain Rescue Team's operations by equipping our volunteers with advanced belay devices. This will enhance our ability to perform rescues in challenging environments and ensure that our team can assist climbers, hikers, and those in distress, regardless of the complexity of the terrain.

Alignment with Funding Criteria:

1. Health and Wellbeing:

   The Mountain Rescue Team plays a crucial role in ensuring the physical safety and wellbeing of individuals engaged in outdoor activities. Our work directly impacts the health of both those we rescue and our volunteers. Belay devices enable safer rescues, reducing the risk of injury or harm to both the victim and the rescuer. In addition, by providing a safer framework for rescue operations, these devices help reduce the physical strain and stress experienced by volunteers, contributing to their long-term mental and physical wellbeing. By supporting the wellbeing of those involved in mountain activities, we also promote a healthier community that is more active and connected to nature.

2. Building Community Spirit:

   The Mountain Rescue Team is comprised entirely of volunteers who are dedicated to serving their local communities. By providing us with essential rescue equipment, this grant would enable us to respond more effectively to emergency situations, fostering community cohesion and trust. The presence of a well-equipped, highly trained rescue team helps build a sense of safety and support within the community. Moreover, as our team is involved in public awareness events and training sessions, having belay devices would allow us to engage more people in safety skills and promote volunteerism, helping to build resilience and connections within the community.

3. Green Projects:

   Mountain Rescue work is inherently tied to the natural environment. By ensuring our team is equipped with appropriate belay devices, we can more safely conduct rescues in fragile and remote areas, minimizing our impact on the environment. Our team also promotes outdoor activities such as climbing and hiking in a safe and sustainable way, encouraging a connection with the natural environment. Supporting our team with updated equipment would help raise awareness about the importance of respecting and preserving the natural world during outdoor pursuits.

Budget Request:

We are requesting a grant to cover the purchase of belay devices for our team. These devices are crucial for our technical rescue operations, and the funding will allow us to acquire high-quality, durable equipment. The total estimated cost for the necessary belay devices is £700, which will enable us to outfit our rescue volunteers with the tools they need for safe and effective operations.

Conclusion:

The Mountain Rescue Team provides a vital service to the community, ensuring the safety and wellbeing of those engaged in outdoor activities. By supporting this application, you will help improve the safety of both our volunteers and the individuals we rescue, while also promoting community cohesion and environmental stewardship. We are confident that this project aligns with the key criteria of health and wellbeing, community building, and environmental awareness, and we appreciate your consideration for this grant.

We meet once weekly and incur no costs from the hall, we currently have pallettes of watercolour paints and brushes that were left over from the summer program so we are very limited in our learning choices. We would greatly benefit from having a supply of resources including sketch books and different meduims to fully get the benefits from this course and our development and understanding of this creative group. We are aiming to put on a display of all our learning/work next summer once we have a good range of finished pieces to display and we are very excited about this considering on one has any experience in the Arts.

We would also like to go on a field trip to the kelvin grove art gallery in the new year, this will be an insirational trip and we will begin to explore different ways to express ourselfs which will hopefully be shown in our art work.

breakdown of costs are;-The range for supplies costings,

Watercoulor & acrylic  brushes pack of 50: £8.99 x 2 - £17.98

A3 sketch books: £10 x 10 - £100

A4 sketch books: £5 x 10 - £50

Paint by number resources: £5 x 19 - £95

roll of tracing paper: £57

drawing made simple kit/ pencils: £3 x 10 - £30

A3 card: £9.99 x 5 - £49.95

Canvas's set: £20 x 10 - £200

Acrylic paint set graduate set 48: £39.99 x 5 - £199.95

Artiste Watercolour paint set 24: £19.98 x 10 - £199.80

Total £999.68

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.

Barnardo's Stronger Families provides support across North Ayrshire to Kinship families. We have funding in place for core staff to facilitate groups, sessions and activities however we require funding to provide for resources, refreshments and if we wish to work with local artists. We worked with local artists recently on graffiti projects and creative arts groups with young people and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Those young people recommended that other young people and adults get to experience groups/sessions similar to those that they took part in. Benefits of creative arts sessions are socialisation, reducing isolation, positive communication, learning new skills and discovering artisitic talents. It can build confdence and self-esteem. For Kinship carers it will allow them to take some time for themselves, relax, spend time with other people in a similar situation to them and to build up positive peer relationships and supportive networks. For Kinship families to take part in sessions together, it will allow them to spend quality time as a family, having fun, communicating, supporting each other and relaxing together. Barnardo's will provide the staffing and promotional materials for these sessions.

Costs for 10 sessions:

Venue hire - £150 (2 hours per session)

Refreshments - £100

Creative arts resources - £450

Local artist time - £300

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 are a community brass band organisation based in Dreghorn. We run 3 bands (a contest brass band, a community and a youth band) and we provide free or low cost after school music lessons for young people. We have over 100 members in our organisation and thousands of people are entertained by us each year at gala days, Christmas events and community concerts. We also support fundraising of other charities. People who participate in our bands and our audiences obtain mental well-being and educational benefits from musical activity. Each year we compete in several brass band contests and festivals all over Scotland. Any funding obtained would go towards our (2025) travel costs, entry costs, and other costs for competitions such as music, extra rehearsals etc. Participating in these event will inspires, motivates and develops our players, entertains audiences and we also represent North Ayrshire in an important cultural events.

We are applying for £1,000 for our adult groups competing costs

Cost breakdown would be:

• Travel cost subsidies – bus hire £600
• Entry fees - £200
• Music, extra rehearsal costs - £200

Each year we compete at the Scottish Brass Band Championships in Perth (March 2025) and for this contest alone a bus costs c. £700 and other costs (music, entry, rehearsals) c. £500. As we attend 3 - 4 contests per year the costs incurred for all competitions is c. £3,000. Contests / festivals are important for our groups development and the band would fundraise or meet the gap from reserves.  

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.