The New Scots is a fully youth-led group supporting young newcomers (ages 15–21) in North Ayrshire. Our project aims to help members find pathways for personal growth, community involvement, and future careers through engaging activities.

 

Planned activities include:

 

• Trips and workshops: Cultural events, outdoor adventures, hillwalking, and skills-building workshops.
• Community engagement: Connecting young people to clubs, volunteering, and local initiatives.
• Career guidance: Providing information about colleges, universities, and potential career pathways.

Item

Cost (£)

Transport for trips

400

Workshop materials

200

Venue hire

150

Refreshments/snacks

150

Cultural event costs

100

Total

1,000

Why this project deserves funding:

 

• Fully youth-led and youth-driven.
• Helps newcomers adjust to life in North Ayrshire.
• Provides tangible skills, social connection, and pathways for the future.
• Encourages community engagement and inclusion.

We want to support more of our peers to attend our FREE after school extra-curricular sport clubs however not a lot of people at our school have access to sports kit to attend, we done a consultation with our year groups and they identified kit as a barrier as a reason they cannot attend our clubs. We want to provide a kit box with sports wear they can access if they want to attend an after school club but can't because lack of kit, our kit box would include t-shirts with our school logo as well as leggings and shorts, this will also give our young people a sense of belonging at our clubs so they don't feel isolated, bringing our community together, we will also get our logo printed on the tops to give our peers some pride that they belong at our clubs. Without approrpitate kit, students do not get to access the free sports opportunity which could impact mental wellbeing, with the cost of living crisis, this will hopfully remove that barrier and give every young person the chance to participate. If we are buying uniformed sports wear, then it means no one is feeling left out as they can match their peirs and take pride in their participation. 

Price Breakdown -

x30 T-Shirts (Sizes S, M and L) = £328.50

x30 Printing - (£6.24 per top) = £187.20

x30 Shorts (Sizes S, M and L) = £298.50

x20 Leggings (One-Size) = £339.80

TOTAL COSTS - £1004.75

 

We will run over 20 Personal Safety workshops in Auchenharvie Academy, for youths attending the EmpowerEd programme, and for youths attending various youth organisations such as Girl Guides, Sea Cadets, Air Cadets, Neighbourhood Networks, etc. as well as targeting other schools in our area to offer them training courses. We also aim to run a weekly Personal Safety / self defence in our Barony St John Centre in Ardrossan to enable those youths who want to learn more about staying safe an opportunity to do so.

In total, we hopw to run over 60 Personal Safety courses/workshops/sessions over the year for youths in our area. This will equate to approx. 500 youths.

The cost of this training amounts to £1,500 (20+ courses x £20 fuel costs = £400; volunteer food and refreshments @ £15 per day x 3 instructors x 25 courses = £1,125; posters/printing/ advertising = £60. instructor insurance @ £80 x 3 = £240 Total £1,825).

We are requesting £1,000 to cover our costs, and we will cover the the remaining £825+    

We organise evening discos for the pupils at halloween and in spring, costing £325 each, which covers the DJ, snacks and the hall. £650 (events in 2026)

At easter we organise an Easter bunny visit with prizes for art work and easter eggs for all the pupils. £200

We provide a yearly donation including art supplies to help the running of the Breakfast Club. £150

With year on year increased costs we would love to be able to go back to organising these events free of charge and open to all of our young people. This would allow all pupils to access fun discos and activities with their friends and school community  no matter their circumstances.

Pupils have expressed enjoying the discos each year and always look forward to the next one.

Our aim ist to "To promote the benefit of all young people in Ardrossan aged from 11-25 years, without, distinction of sex, politics, religion or other opinions. By association with local authorities, voluntary organisations and the inhabitants of the community of Ardrossan, in a common effort to advance education, provide facilities in the interest of social welfare for recreation and leisure with the object of improving the mental, social and physical wellbeing of young people"

Our project is all about offering free activities and food to the young people and their family's in the Ardrossan area at our annual family funday. There is a number of reasons we run this event, some are as follows- the cost of living limits familays to do other activities during the long summer weeks which usually has a cost attached, We include consultations at our fun days to get views from the community, what is needed in the community and how the youth centre could help with these issues and we like to promote what the centre can offer for all young people in the community.

The total cost is over £1000 but the association will complete other funding applications.

Inflatables £500, BBQ and utencils £350, Face painter 4 hours £250, petting zoo £350, food, £500, Drum 4 ur life £150 donation, Children entertainment £265, First Aid £150. There are other costs that the association will also cover.

This project meets 4 out of the 5 criteria Themes listed below

• Youth: Equality and diversity
• Youth: Health and wellbeing. Both of these are explained in our aims at the top of this section
• Youth: Cost of living- A big part of our project and overall running of the activities and groups in our youth centre (all is free)
• Youth: Young people's voice and rights- another part of the project and the groups at the centre. (all young peoples voices matter to us and with the addition of consiltations at our events, we get a wider view of what the community needs)

All young people in the community and wider will benefit. Knowing there is a youth centre, a safe space where we are offering free activities and other oppertunities to improve their physical, emotional and social development. 

We beleive this is a great project which has the scope to interact with a lot of young people and to share with them the opertunities that is there for them, free and on their doorstep.

Our team have managed our kits well especially when the kids continually grow out of them. When we move on to the 9 a side season we would like to be able to kit out the kids in the same home team kit and provide rain jackets so that all of the kids are the same no matter their circumstances. We would pass on our smaller kits to the youth academy teams below us, in order to recycle the kits that are still in good condition, but just too small now. Instead of passing on the cost to parents to fund a new kit for their child, this grant would allow us to make sure the whole team go to games and festivals all in the same home kit, ensuring they all feel part of the team.

Full kit for 20 kids = 20 x 59 = £1180

Sensory play and exploration are integral to child development. It builds brain connections, cognition, language, fine/gross motor skills, and encourages exploration and understanding of the world. Children with ASN are an underserved population who have been historically discouraged or completely prevented from exploring their world, and are still systemically disadvantaged when it comes to building skills and accessing their local area. That is where KO-NEKT comes in. We can, and do, provide safe spaces for young people to play and grow. In this case, we are really hoping to gain the funding required to expand this to include a sensory room that's components are chosen by our young people. 

Cost Breakdown:

• Balance board – £44.99 (motor skills, emotional regulation) (Chosen by CM and AC)
• Sensory discovery wall - £230 (exploration, emotional regulation, fine motor skills) (Chosen by SK and AA)
• Carousel Spinning Seat x2 - £249.98 (exploration, emotional regulation) (Chosen by all)
• Bubble tube 1.2m – £46.99 (emotional regulation) (Chosen by LM)
• Giant Polydron XL Set 2 big building panels - £289.98 (motor skills, critical thinking, imagination) (Chosen by CM, LM and AC)
• Nursery Radiator Cover Safety Padded & Antibacterial Coated - £90 (safety) (Chosen by staff)

Total: £951.94 - We are applying for £1000 to help cover additional postage costs and one-off installation costs.

 

Our 1st Stevenston Brownies meet together on a Thursday evening for fun, crafts, making new friendships, building confidence and creativity.  The group is run by volunteers and running costs are covered by monthly subs. Each child registered requires to pay a census each year on top of normal running costs. Covering some of the cost would allow other funds to be used for celebrations or events. £30 per child x 18 = £540.  We also buy the group badges on completion of a variety of skills. Approx 18 x £1 ×12 = £216.  Some of girls can earn more than 12 badges in a year. Arts and crafts bundles and cookery sets= £244.