<p>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&nbsp;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.&nbsp;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.&nbsp;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.</p>

<p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="background:#fdfdfd"><span style="line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:13.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Lato&quot;,sans-serif"><span style="color:#222222">The Vennel Friends Discovery Group meet weekly in the Vennel Gardens Community Engagement Hub and helps older people come together to meet new people and try a whole host of activities.&nbsp; </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="background:#fdfdfd"><span style="line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:13.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Lato&quot;,sans-serif"><span style="color:#222222">Our group is open to anyone over the age of 50. &nbsp;We participate in a wide range of activities that promote the health and wellbeing of our group members. The group provides a safe and welcoming place for older people to connect socially which helps to combat loneliness and isolation.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="background:#fdfdfd"><span style="line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:13.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Lato&quot;,sans-serif"><span style="color:#222222">We are applying for funding to enable our group members to experience the positive mental health and social benefits of going to the theatre and having afternoon tea in Glasgow.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>

<p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">St Winin&rsquo;s Over 60&rsquo;S &nbsp;Club meets each Thursday throughout the year to allow older people to connect with others and enjoy a whole range of engaging and fun activities. &nbsp;The club aims to reduce social isolation and provide a safe and welcoming space where older people feel included and valued. &nbsp;Our club encourages group members to meet new people, enjoy a chat in the&nbsp;good company of others. The club is open to anyone over the age of 60 and has a long standing commitment to supporting older people in the local community that spans over 30 years. &nbsp;The club recently celebrated our 30th anniversary in March 2023. &nbsp;<br /> Our weekly meetings take in St Winnins church hall and this incurs a weekly letting fee of &pound;50. Due to the cost living crisis, we are unable to ask any more than a minimal weekly fee from our group members. &nbsp;These weekly fees help pay for tea/coffee/ biscuits which are offered each week. We are looking for funding to help us pay for the ongoing costs of this weekly letting fees.<br /> &nbsp;In addition, our group particularly enjoys hosting a variety of seasonal celebrations. These&nbsp;promote the positive health and wellbeing of our group members, raise&nbsp;spirits and provide lots of good fun. &nbsp;We would like to seek funding to enable us to hold a Burns Supper in the New Year. &nbsp;This would include the cost of catering, decorations, music and hall let.</span></span></span></p>

<p>3TFM broadcasts programmes to the 3 Towns and beyond, from its base at the Frank Sweeney building in Ardrossan.&nbsp; We would like to upgrade some of our studio equipment to enable us to interview guests live on air, and to prerecord interviews.&nbsp; This would enable us&nbsp;to expand on our&nbsp;health and wellbeing output by producing more programmes containing&nbsp;health and wellbeing features with advice and information from local experts, and stories from local people.</p>

<p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">We are looking for funding to help support the reintroduction of a yearly Gala Event &nbsp;in Dalry Public Park as enjoyed by previous generations &ndash; this was recently encouraged by both the Queen`s Platinum Jubilee and King`s Coronation events, which were both greatly supported by the people of Dalry and the surrounding areas.</span></span></span></p>

<p>Cafe Solace Kilbirnie and Kilbirnie and Glengarnock Community Association are starting a community garden where the food grown will be used to make our low cost, nutritious meals at the community centre, we are also looking to install security cameras and install addional parking facillities.</p>

<p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:&quot;Calibri&quot;,sans-serif"><span style="color:black">We are looking for funding to help support our Community Larder, which will be 3 years old come November, initially launch as a food bank during COVID and later developing to the Larder model. The funding would be used to purchase an additional upright&nbsp;glass fronted freezer, Countertop Food Display Unit, for the free pastries we receive, lable maker,&nbsp;and Individual Aprons / fleece for our volunteers.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>The Club is looking to enhance the quality of the equipment offered to Club members.&nbsp; The understanding is that better, more modern equipment brings about more efficient technique as the equipment will be lighter, and so allowing the particpants to have effortlessly more fun.&nbsp;</p>

<p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">DCERA (Dundonald Crescent Estate Residents Association) was set up in 2022&nbsp;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 &ldquo;The old military houses&rdquo; 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.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">&nbsp;</p>