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ARTS Afternoon
project ‘Pulse of the Place’
Amount requested: £4366
The first half of this project is to set up a samba drumming band to take part in Leith Gala 2023. This will be based at Hermitage Park Primary School and will run for 10 weeks. The block will also include sessions for costume and face paint designs. This group will continue after the gala for another 12 weeks with the aim of performing at a Christmas event. The second half is a 12-week block of samba drumming working with Ukrainian young people from Hermitage Park and Victoria Primary School with the aim of performing at a Christmas event. Drumming allows people to communicate through rhythm, without language, therefore reduces the language barrier and helps create an inclusive environment. We aim to increase the confidence of young people through a creative and positive outlet. There is no audition process and all instruments will be provided. All sessions will be free of charge.
For background information: http://www.artsafternoon.org.uk
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Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB)
project ‘Insight to Ukraine Event’
Amount requested: £3250
Qualifies for boost vote
Over the last six months, Edinburgh has welcomed c. 7,500 Ukrainian refugees, of which c. 2,000 are settled in Leith both in the community and on MS Victoria.
The culture and cuisine of Ukraine is part of the Ukrainian identity and is something that Ukrainians who have recently arrived say that they miss the most about home. In addition, Ukrainians who have recently arrived want to integrate and support the communities in which they have settled. Finally, community is very important to Ukrainians and we are keen to develop community links between the Ukrainian and Leith communities similar to our forefathers who settled in the area following WW2 1947.
We are proposing to organise an ‘Insight to Ukraine’ event that brings together the Ukrainian and Leith communities in a day of celebration of Ukrainian cuisine and culture. The day will include creative and artistic performances from displaced Ukrainians, a buffet of food from Ukraine and community activities.
For background information: https://www.augb.co.uk/augb-branch-pages/edinburgh-augb-branch
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Central Leith After School Provision (CLASP)
Project ‘Food and clothing bank’
Amount requested: £3200
Due to the current cost of living crisis, people and families are living in a state of anxiousness and worry. CLASP plans to create a food/clothing bank that will not only provide families with everyday necessities, but go a step further in providing the most vulnerable communities in Leith with the tools to aid positive mental and physical health. We will create ‘Nurture Packs’ alongside our food/clothing bank. ‘Nurture Packs’ will include toys, educational resources and activities based on age and stage of children from pre-school to high school age. We will offer simple-to-follow recipe cards ensuring families get the most out of our project. Money will also go towards advertisements to make sure we are widely known and available to the community. We are offering families, including carers of vulnerable people and children who are unable to travel to us an option to have essentials dropped off to them. We hope we can make a difference.
For background information: http://clasp.scot
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Citadel Arts Group
project ‘Citadel Young Company – Community Stories’
Amount requested: £5000
Leith youth drama classes cover three groups P1 to P4, P4 to P7 and S1 to S4. We use peer-led learning: each participant identifies their journey through drama. Our Primary-age groups are diverse with varying backgrounds and needs. We aim to deliver drama sessions to enhance wellbeing, self-expression and social skills, supporting each other to find their voice.
The groups will explore their potential through drama. They will work through social challenges, connect as a diverse group to create a performance from play to sharing their story with their families and community. There will be free weekly one-hour sessions, so all families can access the project. Drama sessions will be inclusive, allowing all learners to develop their skills and sense of self, culminating in a performance at Pilmeny Youth Centre. This will include Easter, Summer and October break sessions to ensure support for families.
For background information: https://www.citadelartsgroup.co.uk
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Dr Bell’s Family Centre
project ‘Summer programme’
Amount requested: £4675
To support and sustain vulnerable families in Leith over the summer period, which is often a difficult time financially for families with children, Dr Bell’s will run a holiday programme in Summer 2023, comprising 4 weeks of activities for families and children.
Each week will have a different theme:
- Wellbeing: exploring mindfulness techniques, body scanning, yoga, reflection, and intention setting
- Cooking: cooking a meal, and learning about cooking on a budget, nutrition, avoiding food waste, bulk buying, and cost-saving shopping tips.
- Get active: fitness, walks and dance sessions
- Get creative: learning about upcycling clothes for parents and babies
Children aged 0-5 will be in our creche while parents participate in activities. Creche activities will be matched to the theme, then everyone will come together for a hot lunch.
We will offer a variety of activities depending on the interests of families. We will build in flexibility to adapt our activities.
For background information: https://drbells.co.uk
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Edinburgh & Lothians Out of School Care Network (ELOSCN)
project ‘Leith Breakfast Club’
Amount requested: £3982
A proposal for raising the attainment gap for primary school aged children in Leith by providing a Breakfast Club to working parents in need of affordable childcare. In addition to this ELOSCN would also provide and 25 funded sessions per week for a period for the first year.
As a registered charity of out of school care provision, ELOSCN has researched the need to provide this service in Leith, for both working parents and as some recognised deprived areas within Edinburgh. ELOSCN has taken on the financial burden of setting up the services with Edinburgh Council as well as recruitment and training the staff to deliver the service.
For background information: https://www.eloscn.com
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Edinburgh & Lothians Regional Equality Council (ELREC)
project ‘Take It Slow’
Amount requested: £5000
Qualifies for boost vote
Inspired by the Slow Living Movement that encourages people to take a slower, more meaningful approach to life every day. It is about living more conscious and sustainable lifestyles and finding pleasure in the process and little things. Slowing down let us rethink our life values, ask questions, stop for a moment, connect with ourselves and our surroundings and make conscious decisions for our lives.
Aim of the project: Take It Slow project aims to bring people from all national and cultural backgrounds in Edinburgh to celebrate and practice Slow Living by engaging in the project activities. It aims to invite and share the idea of Slow Living and by doing this, have a positive impact on community building, sense of belonging, mental health, environmental awareness, and overall wellbeing of the society in Edinburgh.
How: This will be done in the way of Art meetings, Nature walks, and Plant based cooking workshops.
For background information: https://www.elrec.org.uk
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Edinburgh Community Food and Leith Walk Police Box
project ‘Bite-size cooking at Leith Walk Police Box’
Amount requested: £4981
Qualifies for boost vote
Through our 26 years’ experience working with vulnerable and low-income – including minority ethnic – communities, Edinburgh Community Food understands just how many people may lack the skills, confidence and knowledge to prepare simple, affordable and nutritious foods. In addition, people living in temporary accommodation may only have access to a microwave/kettle. Skills can be quickly shared in a fun and welcoming way, providing direct benefits. We will partner with Leith Walk Police Box to create an on-street mini-cooking venue, and provide monthly bite-size one-to-one 15-minute cooking sessions, focusing on and utilising the simplest of equipment to prepare nourishing food. We will provide slow cookers and simple training. To facilitate this, Leith Police Box will install catering-standard equipment and sinks, and create a community cooking resource
- 4 hours/day, monthly, 12 people/day
- Healthy microwave cooking
- Kettle cooking
- Cold cooking
- 5 ways with eggs
- Healthy breakfasts
- Slow cooker supply, training and support
- Food for home
For background information: https://www.edinburghcommunityfood.org.uk
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Edinburgh NE Foodbank
project ‘The Leith Pantry’
Amount requested: £5000
The Leith Pantry is a new 3-year project being developed by the Edinburgh NE Foodbank. It is a model that allows us to move away from the crisis model of the foodbank to a preventative and more sustainable approach to reducing food insecurity and poverty.
For a small weekly fee members choose groceries worth up to £15 to £20, therefore maximising members’ income to buy other essential items such as heating and clothing. Pantries are more than just food. They promote dignity, choice and hope by building meaningful relationships and encourage members participation.
The grant will allow us to maintain our stock levels in the first year and give us opportunity to increase our membership from 25 to 75 people, therefore, empowering members to move forward with their lives and find a more sustainable approach to moving away from food insecurity and poverty.
For background information: https://edinburghnefoodbank.com
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Edinburgh Remakery
project ‘Connecting Communities’
Amount requested: £4920
Our successful Community Club project, started in 2022, aimed to improve the mental health of those negatively impacted by the covid pandemic, encouraging them to get out and about, take part in activities, and reconnect with others in their community. We targeted specific community groups that we knew would benefit the most. In 2023 we want to welcome even more people into our community space. Our ‘Connecting Communities Clubs’ will connect people across communities – combining groups across Leith, creating new gentle introductions for people, promoting new friendships and shared laughter, and fostering a strong sense of Community. Listening to beneficiaries, we will add new, creative activities which inspire conversations – paper and book art activities, repurposing old clothes and textiles into new items, turning broken items into artwork. Our clubs will run from morning until afternoon so that, along with tea, cake and chat, we will also provide a hot meal for attendees to enjoy and share.
For background information: https://www.edinburghremakery.org.uk
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Edinburgh Tool Library
project ‘Solar-powered little free library charging points’
Amount requested: £4100
As part of the Leith Fuel Poverty working group meeting, it was highlighted that many folks who are most affected by the cost of living crisis and fuel poverty will be at the point of being cut off from electricity entirely. This means they do not have the ability to look for help or find information to address their concerns as they cannot charge their phones. We are proposing to build (inviting the community to participate in decorating) two little free libraries with seating and solar powered phone chargers, that will be within a secure area of a community centre. People can charge their phones, read a book while they wait and access other useful information. The project is about access to help for the most vulnerable people, whilst maintaining their dignity. It is also about promoting reading, and the use of the many little free libraries in Edinburgh, and Leith in particular.
For background information: https://edinburghtoollibrary.org.uk
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Edinburgh Wheels
project ‘The Edinburgh Wheels Ukraine welcome events’
Amount requested: £5000
We would like to create a programme of events to provide a warm welcome to those fleeing the war in the Ukraine. 5 events across 6 months which would include employability, training, education, music, food, sports and socialising to integrate in the community.
The project’s aims are:
- To engage communities through sport, music, education, and community integration.
- To help children and their families on the MS Victoria integrate into the local area, through sports and educational activities.
- To integrate and provide social interaction for families from various cultures.
We have skilled interpreters to help with language barriers and promote English learning. We will deliver these events and training opportunities by working with our partners:
- The Leith Croft
- Edinburgh Leisure
- Leith Victoria Boxing Club
- Rick Youngs Black Belt Academy
- Leith DIY (meanwhile in Leith community space)
- Citadel Leith
For background information: https://edinburghwheels.co.uk
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Hermitage Park School Association
project ‘Munch and Crunch’
Amount requested: £4000
‘Munch and Crunch‘ will help combat food poverty by providing a piece of fruit for every school child, every day for a full term. This will support children through the cost of living crisis, making sure that the misery of hunger does not hold any child back at school. (Fruit costs 37% more than it did 2020.)
By offering free fruit to everyone we remove the stigma caused by only offering to disadvantaged pupils. Children will munch and crunch together during class social time – this shared experience will support their overall wellbeing. Any fruit left over can be taken home by children in need, helping to prevent weekend hunger.
56% of our students are deemed as living in the most deprived areas of Scotland. Students impacted by poverty often come to school hungry and without a snack for break. Poverty levels continue to rise because of the cost of living crisis.
For background information: https://hermitageparkprimary.com
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Hibernian Community Foundation
project ‘Leith Academy School of Football’
Amount requested: £4788
The Leith Academy School of Football (SOF) programme works with 40 x S1, S2 and S3 pupils, per week to deliver 12 hours of football and education.
SOF is aimed at developing social and academic skills of young people during their first years of high school a number of skills developed whilst working in a football environment are transferable to school and social situations.
Communication, following instructions, being creative and problem solving are skills developed through football. They can be applied in classroom, playground, home or street situations. For many youths, football captures their imagination and brings joy to life. Through the SOF project we use sport to engage participants in school life.
Daily football has a positive influence on educational attainment, attendance and general health and wellbeing.
Wearing the HCF training kit every day, pupils also visit the Learning Centre to complete workshops on nutrition, sports science and employability.
For background information: https://www.hiberniancommunityfoundation.org.uk
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Himalayan Centre
project ‘Charms of Leith’
Amount requested: £5000
Qualifies for boost vote
The Himalayan Centre Edinburgh for Arts & Culture’s overarching objective is to organize and provide support in order to uplift and improve deprivation and poverty of the Nepalese community, ethnic minorities, and local community from EH6 areas through education, Arts, Languages and Cultural and Heritage exchange as well as provide awareness of communication and understanding.
We are requesting a grant of £5,000 in order to:
- organise 12 x community walks and foraging in the fields/woodlands (once every month). This activity will be led by experienced and qualified volunteer members from the community where we will have activities from the Himalayan region integrated.
- organise 6 yoga classes over the year, which will be led by a qualified trainer.
- host a mini mela day at the end of the year with these activities as reflection and for everyone to participate in these activities afterwards.
For background information: https://www.himalayancentreedin.org
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House of Jack
project ‘Free dance classes for those with ASN’
Amount requested: £4950
House of Jack will provide free weekly dance sessions for one year for adults with additional support needs (ASN) who are unable to take part in regular classes, and provide a 1-to-1 buddy system with trained assistants to enable children with moderate support needs to safely take part in regular classes. Dance offers significant benefits, improving health and wellbeing, providing connections with others, and opportunities to be creative.
This funding will allow us to provide our class assistants with specialised training to operate the buddy system (only children’s classes) in our standard class timetable, and to employ a specialist teacher to build a weekly programme of classes specifically for adults with ASN. This will be invaluable in allowing us to expand our offerings, helping vulnerable groups access our activities their benefits. Creating such a programme to support people with ASN to access physical activity and self-expression through dance will give significant benefits to the community.
For background information: https://www.houseofjackedinburgh.com
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Leith Community Centre Association
project ‘Leith Connected’
Amount requested: £3950
Working with a range of organisations in Leith, we will deliver two events that help people get connected. These fun community events will include food, activities that people can get involved with, provide practical examples of to save money and connect them with local support agencies and each other.
The first event, at Heart of Newhaven CIC, will have an intergenerational theme. HoNC will work with local providers to offer workshops, digital support and creative pop-in activities to help generations share memories and experiences. HoNC will develop the details over the next few months. The 2nd event will take place in the autumn and has still to be developed. We have included similar costs for this event.
We’ll share learning between organisations so each event is an improvement on the past one, and collect information from participants about current issues to share more widely.
For background information: https://leithcommunitycentre.org.uk
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Sikh Sanjog
project ‘Girls’ & Women’s Group’
Amount requested: £5000
Qualifies for boost vote
Our youth services have been of great importance to the Sikh and ethnic minority communities across Edinburgh. However we have recently identified the lack of support available to young girls and women. Therefore, this funding would be used to introduce a young girls and women group and provide a safe, inclusive and fun environment for them to meet and socialise. We are hoping to engage as many young women as we can in the design and planning of activities, however, the activities will focus on arts/crafts, self-care activities, and extra outings e.g., outdoor walking, day visits.
The expected outcomes are increased engagement of young women in youth services/community groups, building friendships through socialisation/meeting new people, developing new/existing skills including confidence/self-esteem and increase of mental wellbeing. It is clear within many social contexts that women, in particular ethnic minority women, are extremely vulnerable, and we aim to change this, by giving young women a voice.
For background information: https://www.sikhsanjog.com
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Warrender Baths Club
project ‘Free swimming lessons’
Amount requested: £720
WBC’s project will support the delivery of swimming lessons to senior school pupils at Leith Academy who are unable to swim. Funding will provide a second coach who is also trained as a lifeguard to work with the pupils so that focussed attention can be given to new Ukrainian pupils who do not speak English, as well as the remainder of the diverse group. Two coaches will enable the group to be split into those familiar with swim teaching instruction, and those who need non-verbal instruction and use of a white board. This will enable a more structured and effective learning experience and faster progression in a one hour per week session. The pupils describe their swimming lesson as the highlight of their week, and many would not otherwise be able to learn to swim due to financial barriers.
For background information: https://www.swimwarrender.com
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YMCA Edinburgh
project ‘Creative minds Leith: art therapy for children’s health and wellbeing’
Amount requested: £4920
YMCA Edinburgh is looking for funding to source an art therapist to work 1:1 and in small supportive groups with vulnerable children and young people living in the Leith, many of whom have experienced childhood trauma and whose families face financial barriers to accessing appropriate supports. Research indicates a shortage of therapeutic services for young people within this locality – particularly for those under the age of 12.
Art therapy’s benefits include a reduction in anxiety, improved confidence, improved self-awareness of feelings, and significantly, aids the processing of feelings triggered by traumatic events. This form of therapy is particularly beneficial for children with additional needs such as autism, ADHD and developmental disabilities.
Providing this free service in Leith, predominantly for children living in areas of multiple deprivation (SIMD 1, 2020) would remove both financial barriers and barriers to travelling to other parts of the city to access this specialised service.
For background information: https://ymcaedinburgh.com
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The 20 interesting and worthwhile projects listed below are about Sustaining Leith: supporting and protecting the most vulnerable in our community. Have a look here and think about which you want to vote for. (The projects are also summarised on the voting site, when you get to that stage, from 16th January.) There is only £54,102 available so, sadly, not all can get funding. You need to make the effort to vote for your favourites! And tell all your friends and family to vote too!
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