Start Little Grow Big partners with North Ayrshire Food bank, The Three Towns Growers, The Argyle Centre, West Coast Furniture Bank and The Criminal Justice Team to build a community garden within Ardrossan that addresses food insecurity and strengthen community resilience. By encouraging collective action and skill-sharing, the project nurtures individuals, promotes learning, and empowers all Three Towns residents to grow and enjoy nutritious food. Diversity of skills and experience is valued, making the spaces open to everyone and aimed at improving community wellbeing. This proposal will create three self-sustaining community gardens, one in each town. These gardens use permaculture principles to provide fruit, vegetables, and therapeutic gardening for those without gardens, directly addressing food insecurity and supporting community wellbeing. The project aims to build community ownership locally and promote both formal and informal education in food production. It will focus on hands-on learning, risk assessment, and sharing peer-led expertise, valuing practical experience. The project is committed to organic-only growing, supporting natural pollinators, and avoiding pesticides and artificial growth enhancers. Efforts will also repurpose materials and explore upcycling. The initiative will engage a diverse range of cultural groups, including New Scots from Syria, Ukraine, Afghanistan, and long-standing communities in the Three Towns. Their involvement will combine traditional and modern cultivation practices, enriching local food production. The project is dedicated to fostering collective action and empowerment within the community. The project's long-term benefits are significant. It will empower the community by building ownership of growing spaces, providing fresh produce for community larders, and offering opportunities for exercise and mindfulness. The project has encouraged wider community engagement around food access and provision. It has also promoted biodiversity and pollinators, reduced carbon footprints, and provided volunteering opportunities that boost self-confidence and wellness. This project has built solidarity and a common cause among the Three Towns communities. By creating these spaces, we aim to start conversations with community members about issues they may face. The community campaigner has facilitated a mutual aid style of group work with and for individuals. The project has had a positive impact on the community as it involves 30-40 individuals in its development. An estimated 250 people will benefit from the produce, while 150 will have the opportunity to engage in activities such as storytelling and educational sessions at the project sites. This initiative aims to create spaces where people can relax, actively participate in their community, and engage in gardening based on a "do what you can" ethos. Partnerships with other organizations will facilitate directing participants to the project and providing on-site services. The Three Towns project aims to foster community ownership and sustainable practices through the promotion of organic cultivation. Participants will be encouraged to grow their own produce, regardless of their living situation. This initiative not only focuses on food growth but also on personal development and community collaboration. By involving diverse individuals with various skills, the project will thrive, offering valuable experiences and knowledge about nutritious food and healthier lifestyle choices to all residents of The Three Towns. 

Breakdown of costs 

Water Butts 4X _£160 Compost Bins 2x = £260 PPE- Gloves (Riggers Quality) 15x= £75 Protective eyewear £150 Water Containers 6x =£60 Seed Various £200 Topsoil and compost £95

We are a yoga and support group who have been going for almost 20 years.  Many of our members and now into their 70's and 80's but  are still actively involved in yoga practice.  Yoga helps enormously with strength, balance and flexibility as well as mindfulness. This is important in our advancing years.  We have social outings such as  coffee meetups, lunch or an outing to combat the feeling of loneliness and isolation incurred when people have ailing partners or indeed become widowed. Being sensory impaired also causes much loneliness and isolation.We have one member who is registered blind and several who are registgered as hearing impaired.  We would love to arrange a theatre trip early in 2026 to help conbat winter blues.

theatre tickets 25x30 = £750

Bus home  from Ayr = £250

Total   =  £1000

The Committee aim to keep this a free event in line with the rising cost of living struggles which are evidenced in the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation figures, with Stevenston sitting in the top 10% most deprived decile.

Our aims is to work in partnership with local organisations to provide free fun activities on the night like face painting, glitter tattoos, badge-making, arts & crafts, large outdoor games, retro gaming and much more however, we would like to invite in other businesses to bring something different to the event. This includes the hire of a snow machine, providing free food & and live entertainment. We are also lucky to have the appearance of Santa, where young people will get to visit him and receive a free small token gift in the form of a selection box.

We also host 2 competitions on the run up to the event. These include a Christmas Card Competition and a Window display competition. (Prizes are generously donated by local businesses) The Christmas Card Competition is an opportunity to get our young people at primary school involved. The top three cards will be professionally printed and gifted to the successful young people. We will also make additional prints to sell on the night for those interested. This sale helps kick start the fundraising for the following years event. The window display is an opportunity to encourage community engagement and participation. A friendly competition between businesses and neighbours to get people into the festive spirit and help create community cheer.

With the help of North Ayrshire Council in the past the display of the lights costings have been covered, however, with budget cuts this now falls into the hands of Stevenston Lights Volunteers to source. Alongside the cost of living crisis, businesses and individuals are no longer in a position to sponsor like they once did, as they face rising costs also. So we need to reach out to funders like you to request assistance.

 This event is a year long commitment to plan and implement and requires £8,000 - £10,000 each year to host. We are applying in advance for our 2026 switch on event to help kick start our fundraising efforts.

We are applying for the following resources to be considered for funding:

£500 - money to buy ingredients for free food distribution

£150 - Santa's Grotto inflatable

£350 - Live entertainment delvered by Irvine Beat FM

Ripple Effect Saltcoats intend to reinstate an 18 hole putting green complete with flags. We also will include 2 or 3 target bowls rinks with numbered target circles, a possible french boules area and a large fixed chess and draughts board. It is hoped to include a table tennis court as well. 

Ripple Effect Saltcoats see this project as another step in the regeneration of Saltcoats shorefront. It will also complement the proposed redevelopment of Melbourne Toilets. 

Breakdown of costs : 60 x Minigolf putters @ £7.78 = £466.80 :100 x Minigolf balls = £72.60 : 18 x hole cups: £181.80 : 18 x Aluminium Flags = £86.80 : 2000 x Standard scorecards = £30.00 : 500 x Scorecard pencils = £20.85 

TOTAL  (incl Vat) £1030.62

The project involves planting 15 new fruit trees at the community orchard we've been creating over the past few years at Holm Plantation in Ardrossan, and 26 new fruit trees in the two community orchards we've been creating at Ardeer Quarry in Stevenston. The ground is compacted at one of the Ardeer Quarry orchard sites and so it very challenging for volunteers to dig into to plant trees. So we plan to hire a mini digger and driver to dig large holes there to bypass the need for volunteers to dig there and to provide the trees with the best chance of establishing. All of these orchards will provide the local community with free fresh fruit during late summer and autumn.

Fruit trees - c.£1327

Mini digger and driver to dig holes - c.£708

The Three Towns Discovery Award Group is aimed at all people over 50 years of age, to help promote an active and healthy lifestyle by offering challenges to both stimulate and motivate.

The Discovery Award is a personal challenge, through a programme of your chosen leisure activities with no exam at the end. You need no special qualifications, just a willingness to have a go and the determination to do the very best that you personally achieve. 

As part of this, we bring in other services to educate and draw awareness to local and national topics that impact us and the wider community. We aim to help combat social isloation and lonliness in the community by hosting open events like coffee mornings for those who are not able to join the group for various reasons. 

We are applying for money to help towards the cost of a group trip, buy resources to continue making crafts that we sell to help generate a small income and  donate monies to local charities and host an Easter coffee morning for all Discovery Award Groups (Irvine, GV, Kilwinning & Ukranian Group) and the wider community. 

We are asking for the following costs to be considered:

1. Edinburgh Bus Trip Tour (x10) = £ 230

2. Lunch on Trip (x10) = £200

3. Resin Kit = £70

4. Multicoloured Felt Fabric Rolls (x3) = £30

5. 3D Printer = £230

6. Coffee Morning Supplies (Including, coffee, tea, milk, sandwiches, cakes & decorations) = £240

ACHS would like to purchase a colour laser printer, ink, paper, and laminating pouches. ACHS are in process of trying to get a Heritage hub built on castle hill. This would provide much needed toilets, indoor shelter, and exhibition/education space. As part of our feasibility study we need to engage with the community. To do this we need posters, flyers, surveys printed off as well as printing of plans and building specifications to share with public. We hold many outdoor events on the hill and often need laminated information and signage on display. The requested items would enable us to do this.

• Printer £480
• Ink £385
• Sundries £135

The Autumn Club meets fortnightly in Ardrossan Parish Church from Sept-June and provides those in the 'Autumn Years' of their lives with the opportunity to get together for companionship and entertainment. We provide a speaker or performer at most of our meetings and also arrange a Christmas Lunch, a Tea Party, and an afternoon outing. We regularly get 40+ members attending each meeting and had almost 100 people registered last year.

This application is to cover the cost of coach hire for an outing, which is estimated at £500, and the cost of catering for a Tea Party, which is estimated at £250.

This funding request would allow us to subsidise the costs for up to 50 people at each event.

£500 Colour Laser Printer 

£430 Pin Badges

£70 Sundries