Rafford Village Hall has become increasingly popular as a venue for regular fitness and craft classes, the Village Café, parties and weddings. Each year about 2,500 people visit the hall and there has been a growing need for disabled access and parking spaces. The path was in a bad state of repair requiring extreme caution by those who found walking difficult, especially in bad weather and dark nights.

We are grateful to the Berry Burn Community Fund and to each group and individual who generously donated to make the hall a safer and more pleasant place to visit, gather and create community spirit.

 

                      BEFORE                                                                                         AFTER

With thanks to the Berry Burn Community Fund, the Pagoda in Grantown on Spey was able to host the Annual National Puppet Festival. Performances included an Eco Drama, puppet making workshops and a high tech puppet show about Robert the Bruce.

Adults and children alike were enthralled by the performances and delighted to be part of a festival which brought live theatre to a new generation.

The youth section of Forres in Bloom are regenerating the Wee FIBees Garden. The fence, partly funded by Berry Burn Community Fund, will provide shelter for their plants, additional security and surfaces to install outdoor musical instruments and art work.

   

 

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.