Our group meets weekly during term time, where we enjoy a cuppa and a blether and share our stories from the previous week. We also enjoy taking part in activities such as seasonal arts and crafts, planting, colouring and painting as well as games and other activities. We have been grateful to be able to connect with organisations such as Megan's Space, NEST, Breathing Space and The Prevention and Service Support Team, giving us the tools to be able to support each other, our families and our community.

We benefited greatly from the locality PB fund this year and would be grateful for the opportunity to do so again in 2026. We would like to be able to fund activities that would bring our families together during school holiday periods. This would ease the financial starin at this time of year and would also reduce isolation by encouraging us to meet up and mix with other families.

During our sessions in the Children First Hub, we would like to be able to fund two wellbeing, therapeutic sessions provided by college students. By using students to conduct these sessions we can keep costs low and also support our local community college. These sessions would provide us with health and wellbeing support that we would not be able to fund on our own.

We enjoy arts and crafts at our sessions as these ease the everyday stresses our families experience. The increase in costs have made in more difficult to fund this. We would therefore like to purchase arts and craft supplies for our space, in particular cross stitch and painting by numbers. We have benefited from cthe therapeutic affects that arts and crafts can provide, and we would like to continue to experience this.

Again, to help combat the rise in the cost of living, we would loke to be able to fund a breakfast and lunch session for parents and carers prior to the end of school terms. We have experienced how these events can breakdown isolation  and support our mental health and in turn this gives us the tools to be able to support our families.

Finally, the skills gained by planning and managing a budget of this scale will up-skill us all and provide us with the confidence to support our local community while also improving our health and wellbeing.

Weekly Coffee and Connect Sessions

Arts and Crafts Supplies £150

Therapeutic Sessions £240

Breakfast Sessions £60

Lunch Sessions £250

Family Easter Trip

Bounce Station Trip £300

We are applying for funding to enable our group members to plan and experience a trip to the theatre and afternoon lunch up in Glasgow in the new year.

Social activities such as this can have a positive impact of the health and wellbeing of older people.  This is especially true in the winter months when the cost of living and social isolation can have a significantly negative impact on people’s lives, especially for older members of the community.  This would be an opportunity for our group members to experience a special outing which many would not be able to access independently due challenges faced through physical health and mental wellbeing.

To enable us to do this we are applying for the following:

Theatre tickets: £560

Afternoon Tea: £440

We are applying for £1000.

We have an immediate need for the following items:

A large, lockable cupboard which will act as our storage for the food bank, cost: £200 (approx)

4 x large sturdy boxes on wheels to store and move uniform, cost £160 (approx)

100 x large parcel bags to make up uniform 'bundles', cost £20

Items of underwear, tights, socks and polo shirts in ages 4- 9 as we currently have none in stock, cost £150

250 x bags for making up food 'parcels' for families, cost £50

Going forward we will need to fully stock and maintain the new mini 'food bank':

Fully stock food bank with food and hygiene products, and maintain this throughout the year, cost: £400 (approx.)

Cleaning products, gloves, aprons and misc, cost £20

Our Uniform exchange, which allows families from Castlepark Primary school to ask for items of uniform/clothing/jackets has proven popular, with us handing out over 300 items of clothing in the last year. We sustain the Exchange mostly through donations, however for hygiene reasons underwear must be purchased brand new and we are currently running low on polo shirts of all sizes. Our uniform exchange helps families in our community with the ever-rising cost of living. Families can use our uniform exchange as often as they need.

Through after- school clubs and with feedback from families within our community, a food bank is something that has been suggested on numerus occasions. With the Family Hub up and running, we felt this was something we could launch and facilitate within the hub, with families being able to take home food parcels after each ‘after school club’ or if there is a specific need, then this could be accommodated, where possible. This will help with the cost of living as well as help promote healthy eating with fresh fruit and vegetables being made available where possible. We also plan to incorporate ‘healthy eating on a budget’ workshops as part of the after-school family hub program.

We will bring in external agencies to help promote health and wellbeing and to help with things such as money management and supporting families with additional support needs. This will run alongside a program of activities for the families such as arts and crafts, sports, music, dance, and cooking.

Our long-term intentions for the after-school family hub is to create a welcoming, safe and inclusive place for the families in our local area to gather and enjoy themselves. Running a thriving family hub that supports our community in any way we can.

The weekly bingo sessions in Redburn Community Hub help to build community spirit and improve the health and wellbeing of local community members.  The sessions are inclusive and welcoming and are regularly attended by a large number of people from the local community. The bingo sessions provide a safe and friendly social space for people to have fun and meet new people.

We are seeking PB funding to enable us to purchase items that will enhance the experience of community members taking part in the weekly bingo sessions.  We want to buy a new bingo machine that is more efficient and has a large digital display to help make the bingo numbers called accessible to all participants.  We also want to buy bingo dabber pens and bingo books to enable up to 100 community members to take part in the weekly bingo sessions.  We also require an electrical extension for the bingo machine.  In addition, we are seeking funding to purchase vouchers to enable us to provide a wide variety of quality bingo prizes for the weekly sessions. 

Bingo Machine- £300

Extension- £30

Bingo Dabbers £70

Bingo Books- £100

Vouchers to buy bingo prizes- £500

Total £1000

We are looking to hire the Volunteer rooms on 2 occassions, approx February and August to provide information on the February event and Health and Wellbeing on the August event, costs below are based on 2025 costs and anything over the £1,000.00 applied for will be paid by the forum.

                                February                                                                          August

Hall Hire                  £171.20                                                                           £85.60

Food                       £350.00                                                                           £200.00

Promotion               £228.00                                                                           £150.00

Total                       £750.00                                                                           £435.60

Amount Seniors Forum will put towards projects approx £185.60

Our sewing and craft group - The Canny Crafters, offers a welcoming space where people of all ages and abilities can come together every week to learn new skills, share knowledge, and enjoy creative activities. The group helps improve wellbeing by providing a relaxing outlet that reduces stress and gives members a sense of purpose and achievement. It also builds confidence as people develop new skills or mentor and help others and take pride in completing their own or group projects. Just as importantly, it reduces social isolation by bringing people together, helping them form friendships and feel more connected to their community. The group encourages intergenerational learning, with younger and older members exchanging skills and experiences, and creates opportunities for people to give back through handmade items that can be kept, donated or sold by the group. The group improves members mental health, strengthens community ties, and provides a supportive environment where people of all ages can thrive.

At the moment there are around 10 members registered who come along weekly or on an ad hoc basis.

To enable the group to offer a wide range of projects throughout the year and be able to invite different crafters the group would like to apply for funding to allow them to buy new resources and some machines which can be used multiple times throughout the life of the project and invite external crafters to come in and demonstrate new crafting experiences for the group to try.

Breakdown of costs

Sewing machines x 2/3   = £300.00

Hand held knitting machines x 4 = £100.00

Threads / Wool / knitting & crochet materials - £150.00

Arts / Craft resources - £100.00

External groups coming to demonstrate and offer new experinces - £300