New communal instruments i.e. drums - £500 Hall let hire - £100 Uniforms for young people - £250 Tutoring from professionals - £150 Total - £1000

Having new equipment would allow the band to take on more beginners and give more young people the opportunity to take part in the band. We have some New Scots in the band and would love to be able to take on more to share the culture of Scottish music. People from all over North Ayrshire come to the band and its an opportunity for people to link up and get to know new people and make friends. In terms of mental health and wellbeing, we have some people in the band who suffer from PTSD, elderly people and some who are socially isolated.

The pipe band is really beneficial for the volunteers who build their confidence running the band and getting this funding would mean a lot to us in terms of increasing capacity and learning how to do more things with the band. We work with other voluntary organisations across Irvine to provide pipers for special events at a discounted rate and also refer people to the band who want to learn a new instrument.

Our recipe book will be a collection of simple recipes aimed at reducing waste, saving money and encouraging families to cook together. We aim to partner with other local groups within Irvine and Christmas initiatives to give this book as a gift and inspire families to make exciting food with a minimal budget. We believe it is possible to have healthy great tasting food and not pay a fortune for it and we want to excite people about making more with what they have. We can also combine the cookbook with a video or it can be used as part of an in person class and for the partners we work with on this can offer a set of seasonings to build on cooking knowledge and skills. These classes will be held in the new year when money is even tighter and can be done in conjunction with the existing warm spaces and local community groups. Good food can benefit families in numerous ways, promoting both physical and emotional well-being. Incorporating good food into family life involves not only choosing nutritious ingredients but also creating a positive food environment that emphasises balance, variety, and moderation. We hope that this cook book and classes will foster a healthy relationship with food and promoting its role in family unity and well-being.

Project Costs - £700 Publication Costs – 200 x A5, Spiral bound, 32 Pages Full colour £120 - 20 x Seasoning Packs – 3 packs of 40g - £2 each  £100 - 20 X £5 – Food for cooking classes.£20 – Recyclable bags

Musical instruments - £630.  Scanner / printer - £370  Total - £1000

Project supports health and well-being

Irvine and Dreghorn Brass has been in existence for c. 45 years and is a registered charity. We have 3 brass bands in our organisation and we provide opportunities for community members to learn music, play in a group and be entertained by music which has major health and well-being benefits for participants and audiences alike.

We perform at over 30 concerts and gala days each year and are seen by thousands of people. We also provide free music lessons and access to brass and percussion instruments for young people and adults. 

Part of the funding would be spent on instruments that enable more people to play. While we will require to spend more than £630 on buying new / nearly new instruments, we will look to fund this additioal spend via other sources. 

We would also like to buy a good quality printer / scanner. We often need to copy sheet music for our musicians to play and practice. Also we have a large library of sheet music, around 900 arrangements collected over our 40+ year existence, that we would like to digitise (scan). Parts of the sheet music often get lost or damaged and creating on-line copies would protect the music and enable us to print parts as required for our band rehearsals and classes.

Demand for our services is growing and our membership has grown 50% in the last year. Many people want to play in bands and community groups have us play at events.

Our project will be to purchase a new defibrillator which our community volunteers will use to provide lifesaving treatment to anyone who needs it on Irvine beach and as part of our community outreach projects. Volunteers will be trained how to use the defibrillator, increasing their existing skillset around first aid, increasing resilience and building their confidence to use the lifesaving piece of equipment.

Our volunteers benefit from reduced social isolation by volunteering at Coastwatch through the day and at weekends, benefiting their health and wellbeing. Having equipment such as the defibrillator is essential to providing that service for volunteers and the public. All our volunteers learn from each other’s varying experience and Coastwatch has a sense of community spirit among the volunteers, building positive relationships within the community.

Breakdown of costs:

Mindray C1A Semi-Automatic defibrillator - £1100

Coastwatch will subsidise the additional £100 from our own funds.

We would like to host a community dinner for the wider Irvine locality with the aim to bring all the local groups representatives together and to conduct a discussion and survey to record what they feel the current issues are facing older people across Irvine.

The dinner will feature a keynote speaker on a topic related to current issues.

Breakdown:

• Hall hire £68.90
• Catering £800
• Table Settings, invitations & Decoration £100

About 2 months ago we started manually burning signs onto wood, which has proven to be a sucess with the community and we now wish to purchase a wood burning machine (PyroprinterX) to do a more professional job in a much quicker time, we will also need a laptop/ computer to run the softwear.

PyroprinterX and softwear £629.00 (including postage) plus £118 expected Inport Duty, as it is manufactured in Ukraine - £747.00

Laptop/ Computer approx £500

Total expected costs £1,247

Irvine Burns Club are seeking funding to provide trophies and book prizes for those pupils nominated to represent their schools at a “Champion of Champion” event held in Wellwood Burns Centre and Museum and demonstrate their skill in presenting their chosen poem. It is intended that there will be three categories, Primaries 1-2; Primaries 3-4 and Primaries 5-7.

Those nominated by their schools are also eligible to compete in the Ayrshire Association of Burns Clubs Schools’ Competition held later in the year.

If successful there they can go forward to perform at the Robert Burns World Federation National Festival. In the recent past several of our young people have been successful at this stage.

There are 11 Primary Schools in the Irvine Area and it is hoped that all would participate.

We seek funding to purchase 36 trophies at a cost of £20 each (£720) and 36 book prizes at a cost of £7.50 each (£270) a total of £990.

Any unused trophies and book prizes purchased would be held for use in following years.

Auchengate, and in particular Dundonald Crescent, is home to an abundance of wildlife, beautiful views, and families with young children. Our committee members, with the help of those families, contribute a very diverse mix of skills and experience, and are coming together to help our residents by volunteering time, services and knowledge to improve and enhance the look of our estate, whilst building relationships and community spirit. Due to the cost-of-living crisis and the cost of garden maintenance equipment, such as lawnmowers, many of our residents cannot afford the extra expense that comes with garden maintenance, or simply do not have the time due to working whilst supporting young children, or the knowledge to use such equipment safely. This is where DCERA can help.

We would like to purchase two items for our community.

1. Currently, a member of our committee volunteers his time to cut the grass on the front and rear gardens for 25 out of 76 properties within the estate. He generously does this with his personal old mower which is not reliable or fit for purpose for this capacity of work on a weekly basis. We are looking to buy a new mower from a local company that will provide us with great aftercare and a service plan, to be used by two members of the committee to share the responsibility and workload. DCERA will also be covered with liabilty insurance.

2. We intend to buy a good quality, heavy duty gazebo, that will be bespoke made with our DCERA logo. This will be used regularly at events within our estate and further afield for fundraising, drop-in sessions, community barbecues, boot sales, sports and games, and a whole host of other uses.

Cost of Lawnmower - £450

Cost of Gazebo - £600