<p>Springside Community Association would like to hold 2 special events for all of the children in the community to enjoy, free of charge. One event will be a haunted mansion at Halloween and the other will be a Christmas party. We want to bring a sense of fun and excitement that everyone can be involved in, particularly at a time when the cost of living crisis is affecting everyone.&nbsp;</p>

<p>After confirming a demand we would like to create a community facility to help combat loneliness and isolation which is most prevalent in our older community. We would like to improve social interaction through an informal drop-in venue hosted in our Community Centre and run by volunteers in conjunction with the Community Association. The desire is to provide a weekly meeting place with soup and refreshments. The availability of such a facility becomes known quickly and encorages those more isolated to participate and develop new friendships.It also gives people the opportunity to better understand and hopefully participate in the other activities available in the centre, library and community. Also to help create any new and needed facilities. In a rural community people can become isolated because often travel is needed to participate in many activities in other facilities. Our aim is to tackle this inhibition by at least providing a local basic meeting facility that can be tailored to increase participation as demand is understood. Using this Village Hub approach we will try to encourage participation with the hope of providing other social, recreational, well-being and educational opportunities. This will provide the Community Association with a better understanding of the needs of the community to be used in our ongoing interaction with the North Ayrshire Council Officers.</p>

<p>Corsehill Retirement Club meet weekly throughout the year and help older people come together to enjoy many activities, including celebrating national events and holidays. We are a club which is open to anyone over 55 and retired from employment. We have educational activities, along with games and fun activities. This ensures that older people are not isolated, helping to combat loneliness and keeping them connected to their communities. One of the events particularly enjoyed by the members is celebrating Burns Day, with haggis, neeps and tatties, speeches and toasting the Bard with a dram, usually involving a piper and a wee dance. We are looking for funding to help us put this event on and try to have as many people as want to come. This funding would be used to pay for the meals, toasts, and venue. We also need a new laptop, which helps with the functioning of the club and allows our older members have access to the internet if required, keeping them connected with modern day living. We rely on our weekly fees to pay for events, etc so cannot manage to do many in the year. Additional funding will help to allow us to celebrate Burns Day.&nbsp;</p>

<p>This year we plan to put on a community pantomime with local people getting to participate in the arts are creatively coming together to build there confidence and skills set.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Friends of Redburn is a community group&nbsp; based within Irvine, dedicated to providing recreational and social activities for all members in our local community.&nbsp; We would like funding to help provide 2 family events next year. These would include an Easter Family&nbsp;Fun Day and a summer trip.</p>