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The Ayr Ark was established in 2002 by local churches to provide a solution to the growing problem of underage drinking and anti-social behaviour among the young people of South Ayrshire.

The Ayr Ark provides a safe alternative to the many peer pressures that young people are faced with.

Through outreach, engaging events and mentoring, we are committed to having a positive influence on the lives, attitudes, physical and psychological well-being of young people regardless of their sex, race, creed, physical or mental ability.

Although the last few years have been challenging for us as a charity, we have remained active and relevant in our work.

The main aims of our charity are:

Engaging with young people by running events and activities which address a variety of practical needs for young people.

Equipping young people with the knowledge and understanding needed for building and developing their own life skills and self-confidence.

Empowering young people with the experience and confidence to make wise and safe lifestyle choices and to take hold of a more positive future for themselves.

We would be very grateful for this funding to assist our mentoring project further as there is such a need for this service in our Council area. Our team is currently holding one-on-one mentoring sessions at Ayr Academy, Belmont Academy, Queen Margaret Academy and Prestwick Academy. We also have team members visiting Barassie Primary School on a weekly basis and working with Primary 7 children, and we are hoping to continue the work with them once they move to Marr College in Troon.

The project will support two different levels.

1. Archery Tag – This will support community engagement at the weekly Come and Try events we run at Riverside Sports Arena and community charity events that we support. Having just moved into new outdoor facilities at Annbank Football Club, Weston Avenue New Pebble Park, Annbank, Ayr KA6 5EF we will be supporting the Annbank Community Fund to support the local community. Archery Tag is a way to get all ages involved in group games which then introduces people to the sport moving onto other target games, soft archery and eventually to engage with the sport of archery. In the past we have had success from 8 – 80 years in age.
2. Disability Sport Support – We have members of the club that are disabled. To have their equipment adjusted it requires a minimum of a 10 hour round trip or to send equipment away for adjustment/repair.  We propose to buy several items for bow maintenance which will be held and stored at the club’s facility to allow access to repair and tune compound bows and recurve bows.  The compound bows are compressed and cannot be adjusted without specific equipment including a Bow Press, Draw Board, and a  Bieter Vice.  

   The Archery Tag will be used as part of the Come and Try / Community events that we host weekly / monthly in Ayr North and other areas where we are asked to support community events throughout South Ayrshire. We expect to begin to host out own Archery Beginners courses to Archery GB standard June / July 2025 which will be open to residents across the whole of Ayrshire.

   Initially we will be targeting SIMD areas working in partnership with Active Schools and Scottish Disability Sports Sport. The club has a range of equipment suitable for beginner’s courses and a limited supply of equipment that can also be borrowed.  

   Disability Bow Maintenance  The equipment being applied for will allow archers from across North Ayr and beyond to access equipment to maintain their personal equipment. The club at the moment has several disabled archers who also are competitive archers and shoot across the UK most recently gaining a 3rd and 4th place in the Scottish Indoor Championships. To aid the disabled archers who shoot compound we need to invest in specific items of equipment that allow compound bows to be maintained without having make a 10 hr round trip to an archery shop.  Part of this can also be used by the whole club as clamps and draw testers for different types of equipment. Introducing maintenance develops new skills within the sport and the community. It also means that individuals take ownership of equipment and learn how to develop new skills Archery is one of the most inclusive sports there is. It is multi-generational and multi-cultural while being a sport that abled and disabled can complete together.  As a club we have worked with the local area West of Scotland Archery Association and Scottish Archery to support inclusion running events for Scottish Disability Sport. Locally we have supported Active School with children who were non attendees at school and many neurodiverse children have found archery to be a sport that that they can focus on and repeat. One of the Scotland U21 Team that I manage who is neurodivergent has now progressed onto representing the country at senior level a fantastic achievement.