The Forres Youth and Families Outreach Project has continued to support and provide meaningful opportunities for the children, young people and families of Forres throughout this year in the face of unexpectedly challenging circumstances. These opportunities included monthly Messy Church sessions, a week-long Summer Holiday Club, lunchtime SU Groups in the primary schools, a Youth Drop-In at Tesco Costa, seasonal family events and a Family Support Service (for the first half of the year). The success of the Project has been due in no small measure to the hard work and dedication of paid staff and volunteers alike.

  

 

The funding from the Berry Burn Community Fund has meant that we have been successfully able to manage the huge increase in referrals that were much higher than actually anticipated. It meant that we were able to successfully support 92 young people with full school uniform and warm winter clothing, allowing them the opportunity to return to school, smart, confident and ready to learn. Due to the rising number of referrals we were really grateful to the Berry Burn Community Fund, it has been invaluable and we couldn’t have supported all the referrals without the funding.

The BBCF grant enabled our small new organisation to apply for and obtain planning permission for our proposed allotments site. It has therefore allowed us to firmly establish Council and community support for our proposals and will strengthen our ability to raise money with which to develop the allotments from a wider variety of possible sources.

 

Forres Bowling Club is open to anyone over the age of 8 years old who wishes to play the game of bowls. Pivotal to this the green has to be cut and maintained. The grant by Berry Burn assisted us in our project to purchase a new mower.

This incorporated cassettes of a verticutter, roller, scarifier and a brush. These will all help in overall maintenance of the green thus allowing a better playing surface, therefore helping to attract more new members.

 

The 2018 Findhorn Bay Festival encouraged people to visit the Forres area to experience amazing natural and built heritage with an intimate cultural experience.

In celebration of the Year of Young People 2018, the programme embraced and celebrated the energy, enthusiasm and talents of local young people through showcasing talent, supporting work experience and performers as part of the our signature event The Buke of the Howlat.

The 2018 Festival attracted attendances of 16,927 across the 6-days of ticketed and free events (59% regional, 36% from rest of Scotland and 5% from overseas), 868 local people participated in creative learning opportunities, performances, Culture Day and volunteering. Overall the resulting contributed an estimated £869,120k locally.

  

 

Through funding we have purchased a new trike which has contributed to Brogan being a face and voice in her local community, promoting independence and breaking down barriers and stigma. Brogan’s old trike has been given to another young person in the Forres community and it is having a significant impact on their life and family, due to the independence that it has given.

We have found this process helpful and it has been something that has brought the community together, to the benefit of two young people who will now be able to give back in their own way. A huge thank you to the Berry Burn Community Fund for support in this.

    

 

We are grateful for the two years of funding that have been afforded us by the Fund. As a result, our clients have experienced a range of outcome-focused activities, classroom based, community based, and through work placement, all designed to enhance a sense of independence and self-esteem. With sympathetic support, they have had the opportunity to reflect and to try new things for themselves. Our records show their sense of distance travelled, and of positive change. Working in a self-directed manner, through planned activity, personal reflection, and mentoring, clients have enhanced confidence and an embedded sense of achievement.

This year the Berry Burn Foundation assisted the club with the purchase of new goals and nets which were essential to replacement older unsafe ones. The goals are also being used on occasions by the secondary school as the sport continues to grow at that level. We were also able to pay for the costs of the hire of the pitch for the season for all the teams involved in the club. This was a huge benefit as it meant we could continue to offer the sport as a free spectator sport to the community.

  

Grants (Dufftown) Ltd., installed an electrical upgrade at the Rothes Tennis Club’s Clubhouse. Included were extractor fans in the toilets and the kitchen, smoke alarms, fire alarms and fire exit signs. Thanks to the grant from the Berry Burn Community Fund the project was able to go ahead.

  

This was an amazing opportunity to compete at the highest level and to see the best in the world perform. Being part of Team GB at Worlds has encouraged Caitlin to keep training and improving her Poomsae. Following a strong performance in individuals, unfortunately she did not progress, such was the level of athlete she was competing against, mostly older and more experienced. This however has given her determination to keep improving and has set the bar for where she needs to aim. In Teams, giving a great performance, they missed out on progressing to semi-final by just once place.