DCERA (Dundonald Crescent Estate Residents Association) was set up in 2022 to help develop and grow our community within the beautiful Auchengate area of North Ayrshire. Dundonald Crescent will be known by many, by the previous name, Dundonald Camp, or as “The old military houses” near the Paper Mill. We are working closely with North Ayrshire Council and the surrounding communities to establish our estate with a brand-new identity. Over a decade has passed since the M.O.D sold the estate and now is the time to see the place where we call home flourish and evolve into a desirable place to stay.

At North Ayrshire Carers Centre we provide a tailored service for unpaid young and adult carers across the locality, we support individuals and families through their caring roles and provide a listening ear, support services, advice, and peer support groups. Not only this, we aim to support all unpaid carers within each locality within North Ayrshire, through locality events and drop-in support groups for carers. Within our service, we recognise the unseen roles and responsibilities unpaid carers take on for a relative, friend, or neighbor. Care can be provided in more simplistic ways such as helping with the weekly shop to cooking meals. Support is not restricted to physical care but can be also emotional support ranging from just giving a listening ear or taking care of their financial affairs or their own health. This project aims to create a community carousel in partnership with HSCP Carers Team, Youth Services, and KA Leisure to create opportunities within each locality. This will provide a family respite opportunity for unpaid carers accessing the service, or for individuals who may require support in benefit advice, education support, funding, carer support plans or a listening ear as we understand how demanding being an unpaid carer can be. This project will initially be rolled out in seldom-heard communities such as Garnock Valley and North Coast where we aim to provide support within our capacity to unpaid carers along with a fun day out for families to access activities and information based on their needs and abilities. This project will provide an opportunity to tackle isolation, food poverty, and fuel poverty by giving carers a safe, warm space to use for the day where they can bring their cared for, and also access a meal and refreshments along with the company of Carers Centre staff and partners.

SHED is part of Community Roots in West Kilbride which also runs the Village Larder, a subsidised food with dignity project. We have a community garden in the center of West Kilbride and host a drop-in social gardening day once a week there. We have been developing this garden for fruit and vegetable growing so that we can learn how to grow food whilst recognising the mental and physical health benefits of gardening together. Most of what we produce goes to our Village Larder to be accessed for free by our customers there, and some of it is a healthy reward for our hard working volunteers. Our aims are to make healthy food more accessible and create a buzz in the area about the benefits to our health and environment by growing our own food.  In the upcoming year we want to further develop our Community Garden and facilitate food growing in people's own gardens by providing materials, plants and practical support. We trialed offering some plants to our Village Larder customers this summer with great success and think that we can advertise and distribute well from there, with additional advertising of the project on our social media platforms and contacts. We think this will build our connections with people in WK and be the start of a rolling project over the seasons with continual support and materials offered. People will be asked when signing up f they prefer large trugs, 15litre potted veg gardens, or pop up fabric planters and what plants they want to grow from a list. We will have cards to give out with info on growing each plant, fertiliser for the season, canes and ties etc. They will be invited to sow the seeds in our polytunnel on drop in days to see where it all begins and this will introduce people to our growing community. This project will be especially useful for people who aspire to grow but don't know where to start, people who can't afford things like soil and fertiliser to sustain crops once established (which is expensive, expanding education on food and its origins, and people who are not able to access the drop in sessions that are keen to connect and grow. 

Irvine Pipe Band would like to get new equipment for training and uniforms for members of the band who are not able to afford their own equipment. The project will link people up from all walks of life including New Scots as well as others from across North Ayrshire who share a passion for Scottish music. The band provides an opportunity for people to boost their mental health and wellbeing by making new friends and taking up an instrument completely free of charge.

Applying for funds to continue to offer the Healing Hearts North Ayrshire Bereavement Support Group, based at Kilwinning Library on a Friday from 12.30pm - 2.30pm (exc public holidays).

The group was established as part of the Connecting Communities Project, a partnership with Cruse, Cruse Scotland and Co-op, however with funding ending in December 2023, the group are at threat of closure. A number of the group's participants are keen to transfer the group to a constituted group, volunteering for roles in the committee.  These participants have relevant experience in these roles and have created their constitution and are in the process of opening a bank account. 

To provide growing spaces around Largs for people who live and work in Largs to grow their own food in a community environment. The project has secured land in two locations in Largs which will be transformed into much wanted and needed community growing areas. We expect to have access to at least one of the large growing areas by the New Year so the land can be made ready for the next growing season. With this is mind we want to make the gardens accessible and usable spaces for all and are seeking funding for raised beds requiring little or no upkeep and maintenance by their users once in place. The project's main outcomes are hoped to include supporting families grow fruit and vegetables for themselves and using surpluses to support the wider community through the food bank, a community larder or other community groups in the current cost of living crisis and for the future.