Mindful Makers uses mindfulness, crafting and a book group to support mental health, reduce adult loneliness, and promote feelings of achievement, well being, and community via our regular group meetings.
Project Description
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 organisers (no cost) and comprises weekly Crafting Sessions and a Book Group. Sessions are open to all and are mainly free of charge to users although a £1 charge applies for tutored sessions. 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 2026 programme. We use WhatsApp group to share and communicate between meetings, and a new Instagram account will raise awareness.
Our bid for £900 will allow for increasing costs expanding membership, and will (a) continue the provision of free / minimally priced 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 - £350 towards transport. We need to keep our activities as minimally priced as possible as it becomes harder to budget for activities to help us thrive.
In 2025 we arranged a very successful group visit to the Dick Institute in Kilmarnock which we would love to do again in future. However transport costs are prohibitive (costing £300 for a small minibus to take the group) and therefore funding is necessary to allow for future trips.
We respect sustainability, recycling items wherever possible, and augment our funds through craft sales and donations. We support an average of 15-20 members at any time - an optimum number given the donated time and effort for organisation.
Location: Saltcoats Mindful Makers’ catchment area is the Three Towns – Saltcoats, Ardrossan and Stevenston – and Ayrshire’s rich history, beautiful coastline and cultural amenities provide inspiration for our crafting and book group activities. This area returns high scores in many key indicators of deprivation, and this has been well documented (North Ayrshire Health and Wellbeing Profiles, www.scotpho.org.uk, and Three Towns, North Ayrshire Community Planning Partnership, www.northayrshire.community). In ‘Description’ above we have outlined steps we take to combat deprivation-associated depression because of loneliness and financial stresses, and to encourage our members to take responsibility for their health and wellbeing. Mindful Makers activities are widely embedded in the Three Towns community. For example: Mindful Makers’ Book Group has been experimenting with trialling various outside-the-box approaches to increase inclusivity. We have linked with other groups to add value as and where we can and we participate in community outreach; for instance, in 2023 and 2024 we were invited to dress a Christmas tree at the Festival of Trees in Kirkgate Parish Church, Saltcoats, and will be doing so again in 2025 with our theme of ‘Scandinavian Christmas’. Additionally, members of the group were key in the efforts to Save Saltcoats Library, with one member addressing the Council’s budgetary committee as part of the campaign. We are shortly due to start an exhibition of our work at Saltcoats library which will run for two weeks from 17th October and are looking forward to the opportunity. As part of this, we are connecting with others in the community and will have a member on hand each day to talk to members of the public about our work. We will be inviting our local councillors to attend having been delighted and encouraged by their very positive response to our work in the past. The link between loneliness and poor health outcomes is well documented – at a time when we all need to be taking responsibility for our own wellbeing, Mindful Makers provides an accessible opportunity for us to do exactly this.
I love Mindful Makers! The group has transformed my life by providing community, companionship, support and inspiration plus I have learned new skills which bring huge enjoyment and a feeling of progress. Mindfulness is key to mental and physical well-being and all the activities keep my brain active! Without MM I would have been completely socially isolated, so for me the group has been a life saver. Thank you, Mindful Makers!
Saltcoats Mindful Makers - excellent group - very talented volunteers.
I love Mindful Makers! The group has transformed my life by providing community, companionship, support and inspiration plus I have learned new skills which bring huge enjoyment and a feeling of progress. Mindfulness is key to mental and physical well-being and all the activities keep my brain active! Without MM I would have been completely socially isolated, so for me the group has been a life saver. Thank you, Mindful Makers!