Annual General Meeting – Aberdeen – 30th April 2024
Keiran’s Legacy received the most member votes and were awarded £15,000. The runners up – Outfit Moray and InSpire each received £5,000. CONGRATULATIONS to all three groups.
Ordinary General Meeting – Montrose – 3rd October 2023
The Barn, Fork to Fork received the most member votes and were awarded £15,000. The runners up – Aberdeen Home Start and Bee Productions each received £5,000. CONGRATULATIONS to all three groups.
Annual General Meeting – Inverness – 25th April 2023
Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA) received the most member votes and were awarded £15,000. The runners up – Perth Autism Support and Elgin Sports Community Trust (ESCT) each received £5,000. CONGRATULATIONS to all three groups.
Ordinary General Meeting – Dundee – 4 October 2022
Charlie House were awarded £15,000 while The Montrose Playhouse and Banff & Macduff Men’s Shed received £5,000.
Charlie House provides support in the North East of Scotland to babies, children and young people with life-limiting conditions. Seeking Scotmid funding to support their activities programme which delivers free, fully accessible, inclusive activities for children and their families.
Montrose Playhouse is a community owned cinema and art centre. They are seeking funding to support their The Food Projects, which includes a Community Fridge, to help the local community reduce food waste, save money and make the Playhouse even more accessible.
Banff & Macduff Men’s Shed helps members by engaging in community improvement projects. They are in the process of turning a former school into a community hub for use by over 40 community groups. Seeking Scotmid funding to help with renovation costs.
Annual General Meeting – Dundee – 25 April 2022
Glen Urquhart Childcare Centre were awarded £15,000 while Dundee Starter Packs and The Sunshine Box received £5,000.
Glen Urquhart Childcare Centre are a local charity providing wrap-around childcare for ages 3-14. The Glen Urquhart Childcare Centre team works tirelessly to ensure their childcare facility (offering Early learning and childcare and out-of-school club sessions) meets the community’s needs and maintain and sustain a true community resource for future generations. Scotmid’s Community Connect Award will provide the opportunity to develop sensory areas within the nursery enabling children, particularly those with Additional Support Needs, to participate in centre life fully.
Dundee Starter Packs is a local charity that assists individuals and families who are unable to provide themselves with basic household goods and bedding as they prepare to take on a tenancy or rebuild a home after a crisis. Funding from Scotmid will be used to provide microwaves to enable those without cooking facilities to prepare and serve a hot meal.
The Sunshine Box is a non-profit charity that raises funds for toy boxes at children’s units in hospitals and clinics across Tayside. These boxes are filled with brand new toys, books and games for children aged 0-16 who are undergoing painful and frightening procedures. The funding from Scotmid’s Community Connect Award will enable The Sunshine Box to fill all of their existing boxes and purchase teenage gifts and specialist sensory toys.
Ordinary General Meeting – Aberdeen– 28 September 2021
Highland & Island Blood Bikes were awarded £15,000 while The Allotment Market Stall and Highland Riding for the Disabled both received £5,000.
Highland & Island Blood Bikes (HAIBB) is a volunteer run medical transport charity that provides a free service to NHS Highland – transporting blood and medical products to where they are urgently needed. Scotmid’s support with contribute towards the cost of an additional vehicle to help support the blood bikes during periods of adverse weather, when snow and ice prevents the motorcyclists from undertaking their normal duties.
The Allotment Market Stall Project collects and sells high quality excess produce from allotment sites across Aberdeen city. It aims to reduce waste, reduce food miles and create a stronger, connected community through volunteering. Scotmid’s support will enable them to cultivate their own growing plot and to run stalls introducing a wider audience to nutritious, fresh and locally grown produce.
The Highland Group RDA provides regular riding therapy to over 200 riders with a range of physical and learning disabilities from across Highland Region. Highly qualified instructors and experienced volunteers support riders in lessons, treks and horse care sessions. Scotmid’s support with help towards the cost of stabling horses and ponies at an independent RDA centre.
Annual General Meeting – Dundee (Online) – April 2021
Fintry Community Garden, Dundee Bairns and Aberdeen Foyer were all awarded £8,500.
Fintry Community Garden believe everyone needs a green space, where people from all walks of life can enjoy a shared garden. Seeking funding to add a multi-purpose building to the site.
Dundee Bairns was established with the purpose of providing free meals to children. They wish to implement a programme of Bairns Tea Clubs within primary schools in areas of multiple deprivation.
Aberdeen Foyer supports people towards independent living, learning and work. They wish to upgrade the kitchen within their Marywell Centre to deliver cooking sessions for those most at risk of food insecurity
Annual General Meeting – Dundee (Online) – October 2020
CANDU (Dundee Cancer Support Network), Burghead Community Hall and Glenurquhart Care Project were all awarded £8,500.
CANDU (Dundee Cancer Support Network) are a group of friends in Dundee who have all experienced life with cancer and it is their wish to work together to ensure that other people living with cancer in the local community are able to live the best life possible with a cancer diagnosis. They are determined to make sure that everyone in the city, who wishes to, can benefit from the Living Well With Cancer services which include social events, complementary therapies, counselling, mindfulness and lived experience activities. Community Connect funding will help them to reach out to people in Dundee who wouldn’t normally be able to meet the costs of these activities or who might be socially isolated or restricted by cultural barriers.
Burghead Community Hall in Elgin is a dedicated team of volunteers deeply committed to promoting and providing quality activities and services that contribute to the physical, emotional and social well-being of the community. Their vision is to enhance the quality of life and to fill the unmet needs of the community. Scotmid’s support will help them to provide this by completing the extensive and much needed renovations of Burghead Community Hall.
Glenurquhart Care Project is based in Drumnadrochit, they are passionate about providing the best individual services to the elderly in their rural community in the bonnie Highlands of Scotland. They feel the same opportunities should be available to all, regardless of a postcode. This is why they have set up their “Free Transportation for All” project. They are seeking funding to secure the longevity of their current transportation provision, which sees them travelling up to 96 miles daily; collecting and dropping off elderly Service Users from their homes so they can attend the Day Care Centre. Scotmid’s support will help to ensure this free of charge service can remain in place to keep the most isolated connected to their own community.
Ordinary General Meeting – Brechin – 1 October 2019
Highland Hospice were awarded £15,000 while Brechin City Users Hall and Kincardine and Deeside Befriending both received £5,000.
Based in Inverness, Highland Hospice aim to support people, their families and carers, living with an advancing, life-shortening illness in the Highlands to live the best possible life and to prepare for an experience the best possible death. Highland Hospice will now use the funding to improve awareness of and access to bereavement support and to train more volunteers to support individuals in need.
Kincardine and Deeside Befriending work to benefit older people in the community who are experiencing loneliness and social isolation. They will use the funding to cover volunteer travel expenses as they visit around 100 older adults each year, in their own homes and during the fun outings they have.
In 2016 Brechin City Hall Users Group took over the running of the local city hall from the local authority. BCHUG is run by trustees and a management committee all of whom have a vested interest in the hall. They will use the funding to install a lift to the stage so that is accessible for all.
Annual General Meeting – Inverness – 30 April 2019
Home-Start Kincardine were awarded £15,000 while Cromarty Community Rowing Club received £7,500 and The Strathmore Rugby Club Community Trust received £2,500.
Home-Start Kincardine is a voluntary organisation that provides emotional and practical support and friendship to families with at least one child under the age of five years, throughout Kincardine and Mearns. Community Connect funding will be used to establish family groups that will broaden the charity’s support service by bringing families together in different ways.
Established in 2016, Cromarty Community Rowing Club now have 204 members including 30 youth rowers – that’s an incredible 24% of the town’s population participating with the organisation. A new building would enable the club’s boats to be secure and also provide a hub for all of the adults and young people to gather, arrange training and enjoy being part of the organisation.
The Strathmore Rugby Club Community Trust (SRCCT) improves access and opportunities to those that are often excluded or disadvantaged and provide them the support they need to enjoy a healthy and physically active lifestyle. In partnership with Montrose Junior Rugby and Brechin Rugby Club, SRCCT will use the Community Connect funding to run free autism-friendly rugby sessions for children aged 5-18, to provide those with ASD and their families the chance to engage with those who have similar needs. Sessions across Angus will involve an adapted form of touch rugby and be tailored to the needs of individuals, providing a safe environment for the children to have fun.
Ordinary General Meeting – Brechin – 2 October 2018
Memorial Park Group – Laurencekirk were awarded £15,000 while Pillar Kincardine received £7,500 and Inverness FoodStuff received £2,500.
Memorial Park Group – Laurencekirk is a volunteer-led group created to rejuvenate a local green space. The group improves the community’s quality of life by making public space more accessible and creating facilities and equipment for people of all ages and abilities. The group wish to construct a storage unit with unisex disabled accessible toilet for the Memorial Park. This project is part of a suite of enhancements that the group are currently progressing following community engagement to identify needs.
Pillar Kincardine is a mental health organisation working in partnership with service users, volunteers, people with lived experience and their support networks. Pillar exists to bring people together to build motivation & capacity to change and support them to take the next step in their personal recovery journey. Pillar offers a needs-led service furnishing individuals with the range of skills and opportunities they need to self-manage their mental health and establish meaningful community connections. The charity are seeking an award towards the provision of weekly groups. The groups will offer people who are experiencing mental health difficulties the opportunity to take on meaningful and satisfying social roles and to feel part of their community, not apart from it.
Inverness Foodstuff provides a drop-in centre every Tuesday & Thursday to give a hot, nutritious meal to the homeless and vulnerable. It is also open for soup & sandwiches on Saturday afternoons. A Scotmid Community Connect award would pay for the management and co-ordination costs for their 84 volunteers. Through liaison with the NHS, Highland Council and other agencies the group also give help, advice, IT training and support to the participants who use the service.
Annual General Meeting – Dundee – 1 May 2018
Highland Cycle Ability Centre were awarded £15,000 while Alyth Youth Partnership received £7,500 and Positive Steps Initiative received £2,500.
Highland Cycle Ability Centre, based near Inverness, provides a cycling service aimed predominately at youngsters and young adults with physical or learning disabilities. Specially trained and qualified staff welcome over 2,500 people per year to use specially adapted cycling equipment on a purpose built, safe and secure cycling track. In addition, they operate an outreach service, taking the cycling equipment across the North of Scotland to those who cannot travel to the cycling track. The Community Connect award will support the extension of the outreach programme over the next two years and ‘take the track’ to people who will benefit from the service.
Alyth Youth Partnership, based in Perthshire, provide clubs and activities for young people aged 9 – 25 in both Alyth and the surrounding areas. The group run activities every weeknight, provide support in schools and run holiday programmes for young people from a wide range of backgrounds including those with additional support needs. Their aim is to promote social inclusion, address anti-social behaviour and encourage young people to take pride in their community. The Community Connect award will be used to fund an arts project which gives young people the opportunity to identify ‘What Makes Alyth’ for them through the use of music, photography, spoken word, dance and art.
Positive Steps Initiatives, based in Dundee, have the overall aim of reducing homelessness in the community. Tailored support services are provided to vulnerable individuals, with a focus on helping those individuals develop skills that will enable them to sustain/maintain a tenancy within their communities. The service supports over 500 individuals annually who face barriers to living independently which include having physical/learning difficulties, experiencing hardship and suffering abuse/violence. The Community Connect award will help provide a much needed outreach service which will provide female hygiene products to women who are facing mental health and/or substance abuse problems. The outreach programme will also extend to schools within Dundee to enable young women and girls to benefit from the service.
Ordinary General Meeting – Brechin – 3 October 2017
Well done to all of our first-ever Community Connect award winners! Dundee’s 18 and Under were awarded £15,000 while Links Parks Community Trust received £10,000 and Moray School Bank received £5,000.
18 and Under are based in Dundee and offer support for young people and children who have experienced any form of abuse or violence. Keiran Watson at 18 & Under said: “The £15,000 from Community Connect will make an enormous difference to us and the young people we aim to support. It means our volunteers can get out onto the streets and look out for and offer support to young people who are often unable to seek support. We estimate that this award will help us reach 1000 more young people and empower them to turn their lives around.”
Links Parks Community Trust aim to utilise the power and widespread appeal of sport to inspire change, through a range of unique and innovative programmes. The funding will go towards supporting those in the local community who have made a conscious effort to recover from addiction. LPCT try and connect with as many people as possible and the funding will help reach the ‘hard to reach’ audience – those that are still living with addiction and are quite often difficult to engage with. Through their unique football program, they hope to inspire people living with addiction to take part and get on the path to recovery.
Moray School Bank aims to improve the lives of children living in our local community by helping to lighten the financial burden of families facing hardship and poverty. The funding will be used to help find premises to store all of the supplies including school uniform packs.
