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 will use the funding to continue our volunteer-led refurbishment of the Ayr Sea Cadets’ hall, carrying out essential repairs and improvements, and to purchase a scaffold tower to safely maintain ceilings, lighting, and fixtures, ensuring the hall remains safe, accessible, and sustainable for cadets, local groups, and the wider community.

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Up grade shelving 

Hoover 

Door mats 

And have a gazebo

For use of the groups who use the shop 

 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

P7 pupils from 9 schools, prioritising those with a catchment area serving the most deprived and poorest areas of Ayr, will be transported to Ayr town Hall where representatives of between 30 and 35 widely different careers have been invited for the day. The reps have been selected as they are known to be enthusiastic about the work they do, are great communicators, and in the majority of cases, have asked to return after previously been involved in the Project over the last 2 years.

The Career stalls are designed to be highly interactive and "Hands-0n"; we are not telling the pupils what grades they need and what college of course they need to aim for (this is done at Secondary school by careers teachers); we want to inspire them, encourage them to think beyond what they think they might end up doing when they leave school. We believe this will motivate them as they start secondary school in a few months after the event.All the Careers reps give up a day, all in their own time, some self employed. Rotarians are on hand to help the teachers supervise the children on the day.

Funding is used for Hire of the Venue (Ayr Town Hall - £250), Hire of the buses to transport the pupils (£850), and a light sandwich lunch and refreshments for the 60 to 70 Careers Reps who will be attending (£300 which Rotary will Fund)