AYF provides lunchtime drop-in at the high school & weekly clubs. These include lacrosse, music jam, guitar tuition, art psychotherapy, girls football, P7 club & youth club. We also provide activities in school holidays including go-karting, paintball, Flip Out, Alton Towers. Funding would support this & ensure our activities remain free to young people. As young people involvement is such a key part of AYF, young people engaged in the project will have a say on how funds would be spent, but costs might include c. £500 on equipment (new Xbox/Switch/Playstation games, board/card games, lacrosse gear, etc) and c. £500 on activities (trips to football matches, cooking ingredients, hall/astro hire for Friday nights etc)

We want to be able to give all our Company and Senior Boys' the opportunity to attend and by gaining some funding we can reduce the overall cost to our parents and carers.

Our Camp is being organised by North Ayrshire Boys' Brigade Battalion and costs £300 per person. This includes camping accommodation, all food and drinks, a football stadium tour, Alton Towers Theme Park, a visit to Blackpool which includes a visit to the tower. 

Any funding allows us to lower the cost for all our young people and give them a fantastic experience and opportunity. 

• The girls are beginning to represent their community at wider events and we would like a unit flag which costs £91 for these events.
• The current hall cost is £88 a year 
• End-of-year badge cost per girl £20
• Craft budget £150

We would also like to seek funding to organise a camping trip for the girls. Due to the small nature of the group, we have not had the funding opportunity to arrange an end-of-year trip. The cost per girl would be £50, this would be a total cost of £600 to stay at the Blair activity centre with 3 leaders. This is the minimum cost as we would need funding for food £150, resources £200 and badges £30. 

We are asking for £1,000 to help cover the costs of our budget for our small local unit to the end of the year. 

Our group seeks to help foster skills in 12-25 year olds by growing soft literacy and numeracy skills, as well as creative storytelling, critical thinking, social interaction, and brainstorming.

Our group compromises dedicated players and dungeon masters who share a common belief in the transformative power of tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons. Ranging from 12 to 25, we come together to create an inclusive and welcoming environment that fosters personal growth, social interaction, and skill development.

We operate out of the Ardeer Community Centre in Stevenston and meet up once a week to play through engaging scenarios that involve a lot of team work, brainstorming, and critical problem solving.

Our Objectives

• Enhancing Social Interaction: D&D is a collaborative game that promotes teamwork, communication, and empathy. Through role-playing and problem solving, participants learn to work together, respect diverse perspectives inspired from real world cultures across the globe, and building friendships that last outside of the game.
• Critical Thinking: Dungeons & Dragons is a game of strategy and decision making. Players face complex scenarios, forcing them to think critically, plan, and adapt to unexpected challenges. These skills are transferable to academic and other real-life situations.
• Soft Skills: D&D involves basic arithmetic, probability, and reading comprehension skills. By engaging in storytelling, participants improve their literacy, numeracy, and analytical abilities in a fun and engaging manner.

We believe that through these three objectives, we are able to give people a creative space and a voice for youth to grow socially, intellectually, and emotionally.

The need for funding

To continue our mission effectively, we require funding to acquire more rulebooks, modules, and supplementary materials. These resources will allow us to:

• Expand our reach: With additional materials, we can accommodate more participants, reaching youth who may not have access to such opportunities otherwise.
• Customise Experiences: D&D is versatile, and having a diverse collection of books enables us to tailor our sessions to the specific interests and needs of our participants, making learning more engaging and relevant.

The impact of this funding goes beyond the gaming table, as it helps participants develop critical life skills, gain confidence, and foster a love for learning. Lessons learned in our D&D sessions positively influence the academic and personal success of our participants.

Pricing Breakdown

• Supplement books: £400 (approx) to get 10 additional source books
• Tabletop 3D models: £150 (approx) to acquire 6 custom figures for our current players, and £100 to purchase a plethora of more generic models to give to future players.

We are seeking funding for a new set of match kit and also a new set of footballs and new nets for our goals. These are necessary to enable the children to train, play and reach their potential. Full kit: £500

Training balls: £140

11 a side goal nets: £200

Largs Academy’s Duke of Edinburgh Award group was established at the start of 2022/23 at the request of pupils, through the Parent Council, to provide an extra-curricular opportunity for our senior pupils to learn new life skills, become more physically and mentally active while having a positive impact on their local community. The uptake is extremely positive with 50 young people nearing completion of their bronze award, this is expected to grow this year. The inclusivity of the programme has meant that pupils from all backgrounds have been able to participate and has given those who are disengaging from school a positive focus and a huge sense of achievement, enhancing wellbeing. The programme requires pupils to complete four sections; volunteering, physical, skill, and expedition (an overnight adventure by foot, bike or kayak). Sessions develop teamwork, communication and valuable skills including map reading, using a stove and outdoor first aid. The programme has allowed pupils to be themselves and form new friendships, build their confidence, get outdoors and have experiences they may not have otherwise had.

We are seeking funding on behalf of our young people who, when reflecting on their expedition section asked if we could purchase our own outdoor equipment such as tents, sleeping bags, walking boots, waterproof clothing and backpacks. We currently have a small supply of equipment but not enough to support our demand with over a quarter of our young people having to borrow resources from the council store to complete this section. We have attached a graph showing the equipment that was requested for this year’s expedition. We consulted the young people regarding what they got out of the Duke of Edinburgh group, and what they would like to purchase with unlimited funds, and their responses are attached.

We believe having our own equipment will allow us to better support our participants, giving them a sense of belonging and ensure that lack of equipment is not a barrier for participation, particularly considering the expense of the equipment and the cost of living crisis, and bearing in mind the cost of the school day. The funding will also allow us to support our most disadvantaged pupils to experience the outdoors and help to improve the mental health and wellbeing of our young people.

With the expansion of the Duke of Edinburgh Award we hope to set-up a silver group to provide a pathway for successful bronze candidates to continue to build on their sense of achievement.

Estimated costs

We would like to build up our Largs Academy store of equipment, particularly rucksacks, waterproofs, walking boots, roll mats. We would like to work with a local supplier, with a mind to the local economy, and costs at Vango in Port Glasgow are as follows (as of September 2023):

• Rucksack £120
• Waterproof trousers £32.50
• Waterproof jackets £34.99
• Walking boots £45
• Sleeping bags £52.50
• Tents £175