Residents at Bield Housing’s sheltered housing complex at Carron Court, Bathgate, can now socialise in the sunshine, thanks to a community grant from Scotmid Co-operative.
Scotmid awarded a grant of £200 to purchase new garden furniture to enable tenants to utilise their garden areas and spend quality time outdoors together.
Jennifer Marshall, Carron Court Manager, said: “The tenants at Carron Court take great pride in their scheme and have worked hard with staff in the past to run fundraisers for various garden projects, so that they may fully utilise and enjoy their garden areas.
“They have recently been hoping for garden furniture in one of our outdoor sections, to allow them to socialise with others whilst enjoying the good weather. This very kind donation from Scotmid has allowed tenants to fulfil this dream, as it gave them enough money to buy a wonderful table and chairs set, complete with cushions for extra comfort.”
Bield Housing ensured that residents were involved in the purchase of the new garden furniture, giving them the chance to vote for their favourite set.
Jennifer said: “As soon as the money had been granted, I researched a wide range of furniture sets that met the tenant’s criteria, and then presented the top six options to them in the form of a voting booklet, so that tenants could see pictures before making their final decision. This ensured that the tenants had full control of the decision making process.”
She added: “The set has now been purchased and they are absolutely over the moon with the results. It has even spurred them on to aim for a bigger goal of setting up a greenhouse in this area next spring, which will be a wonderful hobby for many.
“We would like to let Scotmid know just how grateful we are for their help, as support like this really helps to boost tenant wellbeing.”
Yvonne Goodfellow, Membership and Community Officer for Scotmid Co-operative said: “We are delighted that our community grant has enabled the residents at Carron Court to buy new garden furniture so that they can enjoy all of this lovely summer weather we are having in Scotland. As a retailer at the heart of local communities, it is a true pleasure to be able to support the residents in this way.”