Cash boost for organisations that make a real difference
Volunteers at MORAY INSHORE RESCUE ORGANISATION (MIRO) were our first winners.
The rescue organisation that covers Findhorn Bay was awarded £1000, which they are using for training crew and updating their equipment. Last year, the volunteer rescue crew was called out 14 times, including three times in one day in July.
Volunteers at the LENNOXTOWN PROJECT GROUP in East Dunbartonshire were awarded funding to create Campsie Corner, once a piece of waste ground that is now a pretty play area, complete with Wendy house, wooden toadstools, trees and a bench in the centre which is used daily by people of all ages, from children to pensioners.
Although the SENIOR CENTRE (above) in Castlemilk, Glasgow, was forced to close in March to protect its members in the face of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, staff and volunteers are continuing its work addressing health and wellbeing inequalities.
They were awarded funding to continue their work to prevent loneliness and isolation among the ageing population in the community, delivering food and making vital weekly wellbeing checks over the phone.
Garmouth and Kingston are closely linked villages, with a population of 600, at the mouth of the River Spey in Moray, where the local GARMOUTH & KINGSTONE AMENITIES ASSOCIATION recently bought an old cottage to renovate as a Community Hub. They were awarded £1000 to complete their sensory garden, creating a ramp and path from the garden into the hub.
A grant of £500 helped WALTON COURT SOCIAL CLUB upgrade their garden patio area, creating a welcoming space for the elderly residents to gather and enjoy fresh air and company in this sheltered housing development run by Hanover Housing in Giffnock, Glasgow. Its role in bringing the residents together, helping to reduce loneliness and isolation among the community, cannot be overstated. BANNOCKBURN HOUSE TRUST were awarded funding to continue their community projects and renovation of the house and gardens near Stirling to create a local hub and tourist attraction. The trust intends to restore the house and create a space that can be used by the community, and the £1000 funding from the McEwan’s McNificent 7 Fund can help put these in motion.