Community projects get votes for cash
Six services in Rattray that will support adults with health and social care needs were chosen by locals to receive a funding boost totalling £16,000.
Over a dozen local projects had a stall at an open event in Rattray Church Hall on Saturday, where they were on hand to explain the idea behind their proposed community service.
A steady stream of people throughout the day chatted to stallholders before voting for the services they thought should receive funding.
The initiative with the most votes on the day was the popular Friendship Cafe, which runs on Thursday mornings every week in Rattray Hall.
The cafe, which caters for a wide range of elderly and socially isolated individuals in and around the local community, will be awarded £650 for new equipment.
The Friendship Cafe’s Aly Muir said:
Aly Muir
“We are all so delighted to have been awarded this money!
“On behalf of the team and our regulars we would like to thank everyone who voted for us, and John Corrigan for suggesting that we get involved with this initiative.
“The funding will be of great benefit, especially as we have recently moved into the larger hall on Balmoral Road as our numbers keep increasing.
“We are hoping to purchase an electric piano and speaker system for the cafe.”
The project which received the second most votes was Hope Horizons, which aims to provide access to much-needed breaks for carers who support family members living with dementia. Run by Hope Park House, the project was awarded £3000 over two years.
In third place was Strathmore Complementary Therapies which offers support for unpaid carers in the Rattray area through providing free therapies such as head massages and advice sessions. This project will receive £2700 over two years.
A project to develop a musical workshop for people suffering from dementia, Community Sing, was awarded £2000 over two years, and an initiative to create a community garden at the Community Connect building in Rattray that is accessible to all was awarded £3700 over two years.
The final project to receive a cash boost from the funding was the Ericht Allotment Association which was awarded £4000 to set up a community allotment which will enable individuals with health and care needs to learn how to grow and care for a wide range of plants, flowers and vegetables.
The money for the projects has been made available through Perth and Kinross Health and Social Care Partnership’s Your Community, Your Budget, Your Choice scheme.
Blairgowrie and Glens councillor Caroline Shiers attended the event.
She said: “There was a hugely impressive selection of projects displayed for members of the public to vote for. It certainly must have been difficult for anyone casting a vote to pick between the projects and congratulations to those who were awarded money.
“Participatory budgeting – where communities are involved in making decisions about how money is spent in their local communities – is something I look forward to seeing rolled out across Perth and Kinross.
“I will be raising issues I had with the marketing and promotion of the event and explaining just how much involvement residents can have in the process, so that when future events are held we can encourage more people to get involved.”