Golden Friendships – West Dunbartonshire
Golden Friendships is a busy, vibrant and welcoming space bringing people together for a wide range of inclusive activities. Set up in 2017, the charity has gone from strength to strength with the help of National Lottery funding. It’s most recent award of £120,000 over three years means that otherwise isolated people and vulnerable adults, including those with disabilities, can continue to join in organised activities such as karaoke and lunch clubs whilst building friendships with others in their community.
Irene Coombe goes along with her son Stephen who has ongoing health issues. She says: “Golden Friendships is like one big family that we are all part of. Stephen and I were never out the house. Now we have a full social life and more friends than we could have ever dreamed of.”
Founder Jim McLaren recently told us why he is proud of the group.
Paragon Ensemble – Glasgow
Glasgow based, Paragon Ensemble is an inclusive music and arts organisation, dedicated to bringing people together through music, dance and theatre. They received £135,000 for their three year ’Groove’ mentoring project aimed at young people and adults with additional support needs. The programme reduces social isolation by helping people to pursue their music and dance aspirations through one-to-one mentoring support and a range of fun and educational activities.
Eilidh Elizabeth Molly (pictured above), one of the group’s young performers, said: “Paragon has helped me gain confidence in myself and given me access to develop my creative skills in the world of dance and choreography. Just because I can’t do things traditionally doesn’t mean I can’t do them.”
Kirsty Brown, another of the young people accessing the service had agreed to perform at our evening reception, above is a link to “Love letter to Paragon“.
Blairgowrie & Rattray Development Trust – Perth and Kinross
Blairgowrie & Rattray Development Trust help their town to thrive by building a strong sense of community and supporting improvements for those who live, work and visit there. As a result of their recent £150,000 National Lottery award, they’re delivering a food and growing project helping community members access better food and learn how to grow their own food.
Jean Allen, aged 82, said: “I live alone out in the countryside and am delighted to receive soup, cake, and an information note delivered by a lovely volunteer, visiting me every Saturday as part of the Saturday Lunch Club. This has been a major lifeline for me and has kept me part of the community rather than be on my own. I am hugely grateful to the team and the funders behind the initiative, it shows me community spirit is alive and thriving.”
Networks of Wellbeing – Aberdeenshire
From their base in Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Networks of Wellbeing provides a range of support to help local people improve their mental health and wellbeing.
An award of £149,909 is helping them to develop and deliver a holistic programme of community-based activities for people living with mild, severe or enduring mental health conditions designed to improve physical health and build social connections.
One member said: “I first started going to the peer support group in 2019 and with the support of all the staff I have now developed an understanding that I have Paranoid Schizophrenia and fully accept it. This has helped me go from being on a Community Treatment Order to being a completely voluntary patient. I now live a very independent life; volunteering, playing sport and socialising with friends.”
Thurso Community Development Trust – Highlands
Thurso Community Development Trust, formed in early 2018 has been working to make Thurso a better place to live, work and visit though community led sustainable development. Thanks to National Lottery funding of £52,000 they are developing their community garden and growing project in the town, providing educational workshops and volunteering opportunities to people across Thurso and Caithness.
A recent Scottish Land Fund award of £98,812 also means that that they can buy the building they are currently leasing in the town to create a climate hub, complete with a zero-waste shop, workshop and storage space.
Local volunteer, Ali Gibbons, said: “I absolutely love doing the community gardens and have been volunteering three years. I feel I am giving something back to the community and I have made great friends and family since being here. I have even started my own garden and have learnt lots about cooking my own grown food.”
Getting Better Together LTD – North Lanarkshire
With funding from our dormant accounts fund, Young Start, this group delivers ’Listen Lanarkshire’, a youth led community radio station which transitions from online to FM broadcast by March 2023.
Together young people learn and develop ways of voicing local issues and concerns, identifying what the local needs are and how to address these.
It also offers a great opportunity for them to build their confidence and engage on issues that matter to them.
Emma MacGregor, aged 19 said: “From a young age, I have always wanted to work within broadcast media. After joining Listen Lanarkshire in 2021, I have developed new skills. From presenting my own show and learning about the ins and outs of how a community station is run, for example, being part of our steering group – I have been able to develop my understanding and better my experience both at Listen Lanarkshire and throughout my university course.”
Networking Key Services – Edinburgh
Set up in 1987 by a group of Bangladeshi women who wanted a place where they could discuss issues they faced in Scottish Society, Networking Key Services Limited (NKS) works with South Asian women and their families across Edinburgh to alleviate deprivation and promote positive health and wellbeing within their communities. With a three year award of £103,840 they are delivering vital support and providing a platform for South Asian women to act together to improve the quality of their lives.
One female participant said: “The benefit of regularly attending the conversation group has really helped me. I can now reply to my children a bit in English. Before, I used to ask my children to drop parcels for neighbours, but now I feel confident enough to go and drop them and have a bit of chit chat. I feel really good about myself as well as confident.”
Dumfries and Galloway LGBT Plus
Run by and for all members of the LGBT+ community, this group supports LGBT+ adults and their families, carers and supporters by reducing isolation and loneliness, and improving their health and wellbeing. With a National Lottery award of £193,881 it has been able to deliver and develop its much needed activities and services for people across Dumfries and Galloway. These enable people to effectively self-manage their physical and mental conditions and reduce their health inequalities.
Client, “AG”, aged 41, said:
“The services that D&G LGBT Plus have available are the main reason I am still here. They have reached out and helped me at a very dark time. I can now be myself and look forward to a brighter future.
“With their one-to-one support being brought to my own town, along with social meetings, I feel included and listened to. This National Lottery funding really is saving lives.”
The National Lottery Community Fund Scotland Blog 