Vics In The Community is a registered charity based in North Ayr. The charity was established to create oopportunities for people to particiapte in health and wellbeing activities including football while trying to address key barriers and challenges with the community.

North Ayr is recognised as the most deprived community in South Ayrshire and in the top 5% in Scotland. Outcome in North Ayr including unemployment, crime, addiction, life expectency are alll below the local authorty and naional average. 

Since taking over the lease of New Voluntary Park, Vics have been working over the past two years to redevelop the derelict pavilion to bring it back to community ownership. Approx £675,000 has been invested in capital costs and th hub is ready to open. We are seeking essential equipment and resources such as kitchen utenciles, cutlery, glasses and cleaning equipment (Hoover) to help with the opening and running for the community hub. 

These vital items will allow us to opne the hub and host events, functions and accomodate of group work sessions in the Hub.

Over the past few years, we have seen water sports increase in popularity amongst our youth members. As part of ‘Youth Shaped’ scouting we have responded to this and are eager to carry out more water sports sessions for our young people. We are fortunate enough that many of our leaders have earned various water sport instruction certificates, however we lack a way to transport our equipment in order to deliver sessions.

Funding would allow us work towards our goal of purchasing a new small box trailer to safely transport equipment for use on the water. As it stands, we are unable to transport our equipment without having to hire vans, which has proven to be incredibly costly. The price of the trailer stands at £3,995 + VAT. The group has been actively fundraising for the last 12 months in order to be able to make the purchase, this final grant would allow us to bring the project to life.

This project allows us to continue providing important life skills to our young people. Participating in water sports helps to build confidence and resilience, as well improving physical fitness, balance, and co-ordination. Providing young people with the opportunity to spend time outdoors plays a key role in supporting their mental health and well-being. Time away from social media, screens, and school allows young people the chance to disconnect and recharge, helping to teach them the importance of maintaining a work-life balance – a skill which they will carry through to adulthood.

Additionally, the use of a new trailer will help to reduce the cost of participation in these activities. By avoiding van hire, any cost for these activities will be vastly reduced, helping to make water sports more accessible for the benefit of young people. Furthermore, the new trailer provides a more eco-friendly solution to equipment transportation. When hiring vans, we must drive vehicles to and from collection points to get them back to Troon, being able to avoid this will allow us to reduce our carbon footprint as a group.  

Not only will a new trailer benefit members of the 28th Ayrshire Scout Group, but it will also massively benefit other groups in the local community.  Local groups such as Brownies and Guides will be offered the opportunity to use our paddleboards and safety equipment, meaning more young people can experience the benefits of water sports. As well as this, any Scouting or Guiding groups that stay at our hall will also be offered the opportunity to use the equipment. We are lucky to have groups from across the UK as well as International groups regularly staying at the hall. By providing them with the opportunity to use our equipment, their young people will get to experience more of our local culture and community, as well as building all the associated skills that come with water sports

Not only will the young people benefit from increased accessibility to water sports, but so will our adult volunteers. Being able to transport our own equipment will make it easier for us to provide training for those that wish to improve their skills and build their water confidence. Providing adults with the opportunity to gain qualifications in water sport instruction allows us to continue passing these skills down through generations to our young people and allows for our volunteers to continuously develop themselves outside of work and their other life commitments.

Funding will go directly towards the purchase of a new trailer to allow us to provide our young people and the wider community with the opportunity to participate in water sports. Your support will help us deliver these sessions, helping our young people and adults grow, and to build a community that we are proud of.

 Funding will enable the group to access monthly trips throughout the year, ensuring that these are accessible to all by paying for the use of a mini bus from SACT to transport the group

We are devloping the former Darlington church, a B listed building, in the heart of Ayr North to create a community hub, a creative learning centre and an accessible community cinema and theatre so that people living locally can engage in creative learning at a reduced cost or for free. This will build confidence in the community and support self esteem amongst people living there who want to learn new creative skills.

We are seeking capital funding to support the development of the space to create an accessible place where people can come together, learn and share. To develop this space we are looking for funding for building work, a new window, flooring, a staff toilet and a joinery work to create desks and shelves for a creative community library, and chairs for groups to sit on.

Funding will allow us to build a room in the former Vestry of a building that has lain derelict for 17 years and complement the development of our community studio so that people can access groups that align with local priorities and make Ayr North a more accessible place to live.

The building sits in an area of high deprivation and many people live in poverty, and are marginalised, have disabilities, face addiction issues and social isolation. Many young people living here are Young Carers and are at risk of entering the criminal justice system. Having a space that they can use to learn means that diversionary activities like film education, film making workshops and creative activities can empower them and lead them to more positive destinations.

By having a space to meet and learn, people living locally can have the opportunity to create valuable work in a space that they can take ownership of and we have a sucessful track record of award winning work created by Young People living here. Having a space for them to learn in will give them the opportunity to meet more regulalry and take pride in their place and work. People can become familiar with the space and have opportunites to volunteer at events taking place in the adjoining studio, creating employability opportunities and supporting Young People to feel empowered. Older people can engage in volunteering opportunites, meet new people, and feel less socially isolated.

We have already received in kind support from the community payback team who have cleared the room out and made it accessible and funding would allow us to develop the space into a useable, functioning space that serves and inspires people living locally. We have received many donations of plays, books and film education texts so buidling a small library space will make it more user friendly and people can access specialist books for creative learning. We have applied for funding for laptops and digital learning equipment and have recently recieved funding for new filmmaking equipment that can be used by people who want to learn and create. We have received funding to develop our community studio that will be open to the public and host events and workshops and by having a dedicated space for learning and meeting, people living locally can engage, volunteer and find the confidence to host their own events and screenings in the adjoining studio

We are seeking funding to deliver the Broadway Cinema Visitor Experience.  Our foyer space will be re-opened for project information, memberships, and merchandise sales.  There will be a pop-up museum located in our newly revealed 1930s auditorium.  Visitors will be able to soak up the unique atmosphere of an ‘arrested decay’ Grade C listed art-deco cinema.  The experience will be unique in Scotland and will bring significant economic benefits to the area.  It will provide a platform for the Broadway to generate sustained income, serving as a catalyst for future growth and continued project development.  Any money (gratefully received) will be used to purchase: Fire door installation/upgrades Licence fees (PRS/PVS)

Volunteer utility and toilet facility WiFi operating costs Donation terminals and subscriptions Industrial space heater  

These items will 'unlock' our ability to open our doors to the community and visitors, and keep them open.  

Following extensive community consultation, we plan to deliver three evening groups at Dundonald Castle Hub: a Silent Book Club, Dundonald Historical & Archive Group, and a Creative Writing Group. Funding will be used towards staffing and utilities to help our charity open the Hub in the evenings, and to ensure the ongoing sustainability of these groups. This will support us in providing free, accessible activities for people of all ages with daytime commitments (carer, parental and employment amongst others), while tackling loneliness and social isolation over the autumn and winter months in our rural area.