Vegetarian for Life is the UK charity working on behalf of older vegans and vegetarians.

They run regular cookery demos and cook-alongs via Facebook or Zoom for the over 50s. They've delivered these in partnership with a number of organisations including Age UK, age friendly networks, and many carers groups. The hope is that these interactive cookery demos will help to reduce isolation for older adults and be a fun activity for them to take part in, as well as learning some new cookery tips and recipes. They can offer a diverse range of themes such as cooking on a budget, getting creative with storecupboard ingredients, vegan baking, bread making and more. They recently delivered some 'Facebook Lives' on their own Facebook page that can be viewed here.

Pen and phone pal scheme - A great way to help reduce isolation. Many close friendships have been forged through the scheme.

Our Sport Facilities Fund (SFF) supports capital projects that create or improve places where people take part in sport and physical activity.

We want to support projects that provide opportunities for people to get involved in and participate in sport & physical activity.

Greater prioritisation will be given to projects and applications supporting Return to Sport objectives and outcomes following the coronavirus pandemic.

Projects that can clearly demonstrate an inclusive approach such as Changing Lives Through Sport and Physical Activity, or projects that target participants in/from SIMD areas, with additional needs, from ethnically diverse communities, or other protected characteristics will also be prioritised.

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After successfully distributing £500 grants to 2,650 charitable organisations in 2022, we’re incredibly excited to announce that 2023 is going to be even bigger and better than ever before... you won't want to miss out!

Applications are now open and will be until 31st October 2023.

With a simple 20-minute application process for a £500 grant and an outcome within six weeks, the Magic Little Grants fund reduces the work required for grass-roots organisations to access the funding they need to launch or strengthen their services. The following criteria apply:

Organisations must either be in their first year of operation or have an annual income under £250,000.

Funding can be used to launch new projects, support existing ones, or cover core costs associated with ongoing work.

Organisations and the projects for which they apply must be located within England, Scotland, or Wales,

Please note that schools are eligible to apply if they are a registered charity. Groups in Northern Ireland are not eligible to apply for this funding. Groups may only apply once in 2023 for a grant.

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Community benefit distribution of surplus revenues from New Mains of Guynd Solar Park CIC is a 5MW solar park owned by Empower Community Foundation and located at Carmyllie, Arbroath, Angus.

Assisting with the the most compelling current needs of the local community remains the focus of this funding, having donated £100k over the last four years to Voluntary Action Angus, Angus Carers Association, CAFE Project, Edinburgh Science Festival school programme, Angus Care and Repair and Carmyllie Hall.

Applying for funding on ActionFunder is a bit different.

Here’s the process: sign up, register your organisation and post a project you want funding for. Your project will automatically match with any funds you meet the criteria for (grant amount, location, focus area). If you want to apply for this fund, make sure your project meets the criteria.

Your project will remain live on the platform (ready to match with new funds) until you successfully win funding. ActionFunder’s all about saving you time so that you can get on with what matters: community action.

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Tayside Contracts Community Fund – Open for Applications from 9 January 2023

In these difficult times, our local communities need even more help. We are fortunate to have a vibrant community sector in our three Council areas; and the contribution of volunteers and local community support is invaluable in helping those most in need.

Tayside Contracts is proud to work alongside local communities, and we have set up a Community Fund (with generous Community Benefit Funding from Brakes Scotland, one of our main suppliers) where we can give free services, we specialise in.

If you are a charity or a constituted community group, and you think we could provide a service to you, then you may want to consider our Community Fund. We do the work for you, but you don’t have to pay – the Community Fund picks up the cost.

Some of the things we could do for local communities include:-

Carrying out roads/footway improvements and repairs to community facilities such as community hall car parks, or a local pathway;
Digging trenches for rural community broadband schemes;
Providing food hygiene or food nutrition training;
Provision of signage via our Sign Shop for a range of community needs;
Provision of Traffic Management for a community event.

On 9 January 2023, we will be opening our Community Fund to applications. To find out more, please visit our dedicated web page.

Neighbourhood Watch Scotland and Electrical Safety First - Working Together to Reduce the Number of Injuries and Deaths Caused by Electricity

We are thrilled to discover that we’ve been selected by Electrical Safety First for funding from their new initiative, the Electrical Safety Fund. This aims to help communities throughout the UK raise awareness of issues concerning electrical safety. We are looking to ensure our community is kept safe particularly during these financially challenging times we are all facing. We hope to do this by bringing the Neighbourhood Watch family the best information available to keep you, your family, friends and communities safe.

Take a look at the latest edition of Rural Matters.

A bi-monthly bulletin produced by the Police Scotland North East Division Crime Reduction Team aimed at keeping you up to date with what’s happening in our countryside.

In this edition of Rural Matters -

We investigate a high tech solution to deter criminals and protect your property.
PC Richard Russell answers your questions regarding CCTV.
PC Jonathon Davis talks about suicide in rural communities.
Following the Horse Society’s September safety campaign PC Hannah Corbett explains how horse riders and road users can stay safe.
And we look at how fraudsters are targeting families suffering as a result of the cost of living crisis.

Resources that can help with fatigue, sleep and anxiety

The National Wellbeing Hub has wide-ranging free content which is aimed at encouraging us to look after ourselves and seek help when we need it.

It contains information on (evidence-based) resources to enable self-care and the most comprehensive information on services available (e.g. helplines, peer support) at national, regional and local levels.

A number of key resources are available on the National Wellbeing Hub, including apps and online programmes:

Sleepio (click to access the evidence based sleep improvement programme)
Daylight (click to access ways of improving general wellbeing)
Silvercloud (click to access a structured programme based on CBT focusing on supporting your wellbeing, including managing your mental health, resilience, stress and sleep. Use code NHS2020)

For more information you can also follow @PRoMISScot @scotgovhealth on Twitter.

Can you help?

Do you know anyone who was in the Aberlemno WRI between 1952-1955?

Or did you know postman Hampton?

One armed postie Hampton, cycled from Forfar every day to deliver the post to Aberlemno whatever the weather. He was always cheerful and carries a lot of local news as well as the post.

When Aberlemno WRI were creating the embroidered map every WRI member put in some stictches to complete the map, which postie Hampton carried from house to house

Do you know anyone who was involved?

Did your mum/ granny help with a few stitches? Was your dad/ grandad/ uncle Postie Hampton?

Please get in touch if you have any information - through contact us on this website.