We currently develop and maintain 13 major gardens and green spaces in West Kilbride which vary in size from a field to small seated areas. By joining the Scottish Garden's scheme we will be advertised nationally and locally on their social media platforms and in their printed material.  This will attract visitors to our village and increase footfall for our local businesses and studios thus supporting the economy of our area.

We will also produce and sell a small booklet and map for £5. The money collected will be shared with between the Community Gardens and the Ayrshire Hospice.

Design costs - £250

Printing cost for 500 high quality gloss leaflets - £90

For many of us, this group has become a happy place - a space to relax, share experiences, and learn together.

This group is free for all members to join, everything is provided so no one is having to spend any money in these tough times. All members were complete beginners when we joined. With the support of our patient and encouraging tutor, we have all developed new skills in art and grown in confidence. Beyond learning techniques, we have also experienced the therapeutic benefits of creativity, which has had a positive impact on our wellbeing and mental health.

With continued support this project will improve wellbeing by reducing loneliness and offering us a positive, therapeutic activity. Build confidence and skills by supporting us to develop our creativity and try new artistic techniques all at our own pace. Strengthen our community connections by bringing people together from diverse backgrounds which allows us to build friendships and support networks. Our group is inclusive for all and we have a diverse group.

We are aiming to put on an exhibition at the end of the year to display all our works, showing our development this we are excited about and can't wait to show off our work.

We would love for this group to continue however the cost of Art materials is pricey. To enable us to continue we would like to make an application for the full amount of £1000 this will enable the group to stay running for another year.

Resources we would like to buy are:

online from Art Discount: £537.93

winsor and newton various sized canvas boards x 24 £180.70

Artdiscount economy standard canvases 10"x10"multipack of 48 £134.07

Artdiscount economy standard canvas 16"x16" multipack of 2 x 12 £125.16

Seawhitte student canvases 16"x20" for acrylic and oils multipack of 15 x2 £98.00

The range: £275.76

Paint brush set of 12 x 24 - £95.76

Daler rowney watercolour set of 24 x 24 - £180

Amazon:£186

Paint by number canvas various £186

We have created an inclusive environment for all involved in our group. Whilst completing the challenges involved in the awards our group gives back to the community through chosen volunteering opportunities. Our group has provided a social lifeline for many members and it gives us the chance to visit different places throughout Scotland and connect with local history. This in turn positively impacts the health and wellbeing of our group members to help promote an active and healthy lifestyle by offering challenges that both stimulate and motivate. We have been able to access free opportunities and museums through the national trust this has not impacted our members financially. However, we would love to be able to go further afield and access new experiences together as group. This money would allow us to continue to provide an inclusive environment for all our members by covering the costs and allowing equal access to opportunities wavering financial limitations. We hope to use this money to continue to work together as a group providing key support and care to each other with the benefit of sharing new and exciting experiences together.

               We are looking to apply for funding to support our group to access opportunities   out with the free remit of the national trust. As we have created such an inclusive environment, we wouldn’t want to hinder any of our members experience due to financial constraint. This money would provide equal opportunities and access for all. The group have a keen interest in the history of Scotland and would love the opportunity to access different sites that may put pressure on some of the group members financially.  

We would love to visit Stirling Castle and the Wallace Monument this would allow the group to continue their journey of discovery building their knowledge. We would also like to go through to Edinburgh and experience camera obscura together. We are looking for alternative opportunities to access that our members may not be able to access on their own.

Camera obscura – £260

Stirling Castle/Wallace Monument - £300

Sir Walter Scott – Abbotsford House - £290

Ferry to the Isle of Gigha - £150

The group was set up after 3 men in their 40s got back into their teenage hobby of painting warhammer miniatures during the Covid Lockdown and reconnected on social media.  Each of them suffered from social anxiety and found reintegrating extremely difficult. Now in our 2nd year we have gone from 9 members in our first week to 40 regular members, with an average of 20 attending each week. Our fortnightly group quickly became weekly due to demand and has become a very busy and lively social gathering. Our members build miniature models, paint them at our painting station, and play games including Warhammer 40k, Age of Sigmar, Killteam and Warcry.

Many of our members are new to the games when they first begin attending and do not have their own equipment and we have been extremely pleased to be able to provide all of the required equipment to allow people to play and attend who may not have the financial means to purchase their own equipment. However as the group continues to grow so does the demand for equipment.  At our AGM our members expressed an interest in trying new games alongside the regular Warhammer games and we now have a list of requests which we would love to be able to provide for our members to play.

The Games we would like to provide include: Humblewood Tales, Pathfinder adventure, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic The Gathering, Azul, Everdell, Destinies, Cascadia, Ticket to Ride, Mysterium, Arkham Horror, Masters of the Universe, Dominion, Star Realms, Hero Realms, Fallout, Aliens, Catan, Bristol 1350, Salem 1692, Deadwood 1876 Total Cost £849

Providing these games would open the group up to more people who may not enjoy Wargames but would love a social group to sit and relax while playing a fun game. We also provide free refreshments so would like to apply for £150 towards drinks and snacks for our members to help ensure nobody goes home hungry.

Everyone an Artist has been running from the North Ayrshire Foodbank in Ardrossan for two years. Our group aims to offer a safe, judgment free space to be creative, learn new skills and combat social isolation by offering community. Facilitated by a local participatory artist and the Trussell Trust's North Ayrshire Community Campaigner, participants will unlock and develop new skills, such as printmaking, textiles, sculpture, drawing etc alongside having the opportunity to use these skills to address local issues that matter to them. We know from research that taking part in arts based activities has numerous benefits including that on mental and physical health and wellbeing. This funding would allow our group to continue running that little bit longer. 

costs: £540 artist fee (3hrs a week for 12 weeks , £360 materials, £100 food and drinks budget)

Purpose of Funding:

1. Health and Wellbeing:  Organise weekly movement-based activity sessions such as baby yoga, toddler music and dance sessions and outdoor nature walks to support physical activity and mental wellbeing for both parents and children.  Provide healthy snacks and refreshments to encourage nutrition education and community mealtimes.

2.  Community Building:  Host monthly "stay and play" sessions with rotaing themes to build connections among local families.  Creating a welcoming and supportive environment that reduces isolation and strengthens community ties, particularly for new or struggling parents.

3.  Cost of Living Support:  Run a "swap shop" for clothes, toys and essentials to support sustainable living and reduce financial pressure on families.  Offer free to all group sessions, ensuring economic hardship is never a barrier to participation.

4.  Green Projects:  Launch a "Mini Gardener" initiative where toddlers and parents can grow herbs and veg learning about sustainability and food growing.  Using eco-friendly materials for crafts and encourage recycling and waste reduction during all activities.

This funding will help create a nurturing space where parents and toddlers can connect, grow and thrive together.  The activities will not only address immediate needs caused by the cost-of-living crisis but also foster long-term wellbeing, resillience and environmental responsibility.

Estimated Costs:

Facilitators (wellbeing activities)  4 sessions - yoga, music & movement, mindfullness) £200

Craft & Green project initiative - eco-friendly supplies for crafts, mini gardening (compost, seeds, pots and gardening tools) £150

Healthy snack & refreshments 48 week sessions fruit, crackers, drinks, cups and plates £480

Swap shop set up - bins, signage, clothing rails £70

Toys and sensory play resources £100

The members of the Kilwinning Community Shed would like to embark on a pilot project to create a 'buddy bench' for use in a locally identified primary school, and if successful, to roll this project out to other primary schools in the Kilwinning area. Alongside a buddy bench we would also aim to offer an outdoor chalkboard with the option to include an indoor 'postbox' whose function is determined by the school themselves.

As a Community Shed whose aim is to reduce social isolation and combat loneliness by offering a place to meet new friends and be creative, we see the value in conversation in aiding good mental health and wellbeing. We know poor mental health and loneliness spans all generations, as well as the negative impact loneliness has on a person. We aim to help combat loneliness regardless of age.

We have a creative group of talented members who enjoy being part of the Shed and giving back to the wider community. Understanding the advantages of being together and having a place to come and sit, chat and interact with others has given our members great enjoyment and has improved their mental health through simply being together.

As an organisation have experienced the generosity of our local population in the donations we have received to enable us to establish a successful and creative space where we can meet, socialise and be creative.  In return, we want to give something back to our community and help aid the future generation of children in talking to each other or a trusted adult through the use of a buddy bench, where they can go and sit and other children can join them and gather around to help foster new friendships. When we explored the idea of equipment such as a buddy bench, chalkboard and postbox and the advantages it could bring to the children, we acknowledged how important this is regardless of age. We have members in the Shed who have recently moved into Kilwinning from other cities and towns and the Shed has been a lifeline because they know no-one. Children who have perhaps moved to a new school have the exact same experience, and a buddy bench, placed in the right space within the school grounds would be an indication to the other children that this person sitting on this bench is looking for a friend and wants to chat. This would enable other children to gather round and support their fellow pupil. We are hopeful the addition of an outdoor chalkboard would continue that new friendship by giving the children a place to play games, or express themselves, again bringing children together to have fun. The idea of a postbox will simply be a tool to be used for whatever the school and pupils determine, whether it’s a suggestion box, nomination box or whatever is decided. Our aim is to create the physical equipment on behalf of the school, we would aim to liaise with the head teacher once the school children have contributed their thoughts and input to the style and design of the project, we will not be interacting directly with the pupils.

As Shed members we are excited to embark on a project which will not only give us great satisfaction in the actual building of the equipment, it creates a hub of energy and creativity within the Shed itself, from sharing ideas by talking about style, design and 'who can do what'.   We utilise the skills of our members, and in doing so, they feel valued and energised in creating projects that are beneficial for the local community. 

This community spirit, fun and banter bonds us across our 'woodmen' and 'lady shedders'. When we share ideas for projects it involves all of us. Sometimes the woodmen will build our ideas and the lady shedders get to work refining the output, whether it's painting or decorating it or arming ourselves with a hot glue gun - the end result is always admired - then we make more!

Our costs for the project include:

• Dressed wood and marine plywood - £400
• Router and templates (to enable the chosen designs and text on the equipment to be routed into the wooden projects) - £300
• Paint (chalkboard & decoration), screws, hinges - £100
• Branding iron - £50 
• Vices and clamps for chalkboard and post boxes - £50
• Materials to secure the bench in place (this will be determined as the project progresses and likely to include metal/wood/concrete fixings or a combination) - £100

We believe these costs are indicative to enable us to complete the project and provide the tools to enable us to extend the pilot to other schools in our community.

Our trip would allow our members to socialise, meeting others, help with their wellbeing and social isolation. It would also help with their cost of living.

We currently run sessions in Irvine and Kilwinning, as a club we are looking to build and branch out over North Ayrshire having more sessions across the local authority. We currently stuggle with storage at our sites. We'd like to purchase two storage units where we can store all our equipment. This would prevent us losing any of our equipment or equipment getting mixed into other groups resources. We are always looking to promote our club at community events and need some merchaniseing materials such as banners, poster pop ups, tshirts and flyers with our logo and information. This would help us get our publicity out and reach the wider community.  At the moment we are a mens and over 18 club. We are currently aiming to diversify our club by holding more sessions and having womens basketball, under 18, under 16 & under 14 basketball. 

 2 Storage Cages - £640 x 2 = £1280

4 New Basketballs - £80 x 4= £320

New Marketing material (Pop up banners,Posters, Merchandise) - £150

One off hall hires for new pilots (womens basketball, under 18, under 16 & under 14 basketball) - £250

We are looking for £1000 to contribute towards these costs.