The Springboard programme is for young adults aged 16-25 who are currently either at risk of homelessness or accessing homelessness services across Edinburgh.
Participants will be able to gain qualifications in Emergency First Aid at Work as well as Elementary Food Hygiene.
We will support the group with employability skills such as CV writing, Job Interview Skills and Job Applications. We also run workshops focused on mental health and wellbeing as well as weekly social outings to encourage participants to form lasting friendships.
The programme also includes a 3-day Residential trip with the Scottish Outdoor Education Centre to allow the participants to try their hand at some adventurous outdoor activities like rock climbing, abseiling, archery and much more!
Bus fare can be covered by Four Square and lunch will be provided on each day of the course.
Join us on Saturday, October 14th, 2023, at St. Martins Church (232 Dalry Rd, Edinburgh, EH11 2JG) to find clothes, toys, books, DVDs, kitchen utensils, and more, all available for FREE!
Expect to explore a diverse selection of items, such as:
– Women’s, men’s, and children’s clothing
– Toys
– Books, CDs, and DVDs
– Kitchen utensils
– … and much more!
Please remember to bring your own bags to help us minimise waste.
Important note: We will not be accepting donations on the day of the event. If you’d like to make donations, please visit the ELREC Office at 14 Forth Street, EH13LH, on Wednesday, October 11th, or Thursday, October 12th, between 10 am and 5 pm.
Big Hearts, the official charity of Heart of Midlothian FC, raised £21,115 at the Big Hearts Gala at Tynecastle on Saturday 9 September.
The Big Hearts Gala is one of the biggest fundraising events in the charity’s calendar, and this year they have raised more than ever before, with all money going towards helping them to support people in their community.
The amount raised at this year’s Gala is double the amount of than last year.
Guests at the glittering event got a valuable insight into Big Hearts’ vital work across the community.
They learned about the That’s Me! group, which aims to make a positive impact on teenagers and young adults, aged 12 to 18, who could benefit from wellbeing support.
On top of this, guests were in the presence of legends as Paul Hartley, Darren Barr and Mark de Vries were all present in the Gorgie Suite as guest speakers.
The Big Hearts Gala is a celebration of the power of the club’s badge in changing lives in communities across south west Edinburgh.
As well as the funds raised from over 250 tickets sold, there were live and silent auctions, in which signed Hearts shirts, golf days and hotel stays were auctioned.
Craig Wilson, CEO at Big Hearts, said: “We are over the moon to have raised £21,115 at the Big Hearts Gala this year.
“It is one of our biggest fundraising efforts and I’m grateful to everyone who bought tickets and took part in our auctions.
“The money raised will go a long way in our mission to help improve the lives of people in our community.”
Fans at the Gala were delighted to meet three Hearts legends. Brian Chapman shared shared his excitement after hearing some of their stories.
“I am too young to have seen Mark de Vries play, but I was lucky enough to see Paul Hartley play. It was a really good moment to get a picture with him and actually see him in-front of my own eyes.
“I took part in the Hampden to Tynecastle charity walk and, along with three friends, raised £2500 for Big Hearts. I am here tonight to continue to show support after that.
“The charity does a lot of good work, and as we’ve heard tonight, poverty in Gorgie is among the highest in Edinburgh.”
Mark de Vries is fondly remembered by Hearts fans for his four goals on his debut against Hibs. He was glad to be back in Gorgie.
“It has been great to be back in Edinburgh and back at Tynecastle” he said.
“I loved my time here, so it has been an honour to come back as a guest of Big Hearts.
“I have been made to feel so welcome and it has been amazing to learn about the work of Big Hearts.”
Big Hearts is the only non-profit organisation based at the home of Heart of Midlothian FC.
The charity delivers free activities for adults and children to improve outcomes around mental health, social isolation and promote equal opportunities.
It costs Big Hearts over £600,000 each year to build and deliver programmes and services to the communities living in the surroundings of Tynecastle Park, one of the most disadvantaged wards of Edinburgh.
Please note that we will not accept donations on the day of the event.
If you wish to donate items, please pop into the ELREC Office (14 Forth Street EH13LH) on Wednesday July 5th, and Thursday July 6th from 10 am to 5 pm.
Since it was announced that EVOC was to lead the drive to find a sustainable community-led future for the Gorgie City Farm site, extensive work has been going on behind the scenes to deliver on that goal.
The Gorgie Farm Site Steering Group have now appointed a Project Manager to help lead this work and look forward to Suzanne Campbell taking up the role from mid-July. Suzanne comes with extensive experience in service management with a particular focus on children, young people and families.
Suzanne Campbell (Project Manager) commented: “I am delighted to be appointed Project Manager of the Gorgie Farm Site Development and am looking forward to working with the Gorgie community, local organisations and a range of other stakeholders to develop a strong sustainable plan for the future of the site.
“The immeasurable passion, connection and impact Gorgie City Farm has had on people and the community is already clear to me and I cannot wait to capture more stories and get started.”
Cat Young will be working alongside Suzanne in the role of Partnership Facilitator, leading on participation and engagement for the project. Cat has a range of experiences to bring from her time working with Thrive Edinburgh – the innovative new strategy for improving the mental health and wellbeing of all citizens in Edinburgh.
Cat Young (Partnership Co-ordinator) said: “As a Gorgie resident I know first-hand how important this community-led project is and I look forward to working closely with Suzanne to continue the conversations that have already started around securing the site’s future.
“A key priority for the Steering Group is looking at ways to allow people to benefit from this green city space while the project develops. As a first step, Gorgie Farm Gardeners Group have been able to come back and start work on the gardens – bringing it back to life.”
In the meantime the Steering Group has been meeting monthly to to discuss operational and strategic matters. Working with Bridie Ashrowan, EVOC’s Chief Executive, they have been responding to offers of help and interest and building connections with both local and citywide organisations, businesses, and networks – particularly in Gorgie and Darly, where there is a long-standing network of local community organisations.
Bridie Ashrowan commented: “It has been a hugely busy couple of months managing a range of safety and maintenance issues on the Gorgie City Farm site, but the offers of help and levels of interest in the project have been really moving.
“Now that we have Suzanne and Cat on the team we can move onto the next phase of the project – they both have lots of experience helping people and communities to influence the design of community spaces and services, and will play a key role in working towards a sustainable and visionary future for the site.
“We are planning some engagement events for the local community to help do that and will share details of these very soon.”
Regular updates about the Gorgie City Farm site project are available on the EVOC website including a set of frequently asked questions.
Aldi Scotland’s popular Supermarket Sweep challenge recently returned to Gorgie, and lucky local winner has raised £1,210.98 for a foodbank of their choosing, while picking up £605 in Aldi favourites for herself.
Aldi’s popular gameshow inspired Supermarket Sweep arrived in Gorgie and lucky shopper Maryanne who was chosen as the winner of an in-store competition, took part in the five-minute trolley dash for charity on Sunday 9th of April.
As well as taking home a trolley full of goodies, Maryanne successfully found the hidden inflatable in store, meaning Aldi Scotland doubled the total value of her haul and donated the lump sum to her nominated charity, The Salvation Army.
Aldi Supermarket Sweep winner, Maryanne Fitzpatrick, said: “The Aldi supermarket sweep was an amazing experience, and I am glad the Salvation Army have received an amazing amount of money from it.”
Elizabeth Young, Community Project Coordinator at The Salvation Army, said:“Over the past few months we have seen the need for our foodbank continuing to grow at an alarming rate.
“So much so, that on top of the very generous donations received from church members, members of the general public, schools, corporate groups and supermarket permanent collection points, we find ourselves having to spend hundreds of pounds nearly every week buying food to top up our food parcels.
“So, you can imagine how pleased we were to hear that we had been selected to benefit from the supermarket sweep at the Gorgie branch of Aldi close to our foodbank. Then to our great surprise, we were informed that Aldi were going to double the amount of the trolley dash, resulting in a donation to us of £1,210!
“I would like to thank Aldi for this very generous donation and to your customer who chose our foodbank to benefit from the donation. This will help us to continue giving out food parcels to those who are finding life difficult now and enable us to show a love and kindness to them.”
Richard Holloway, Regional Managing Director for Scotland, said:“We are proud that the Aldi Supermarket Sweep is a firm favourite across the country, and we are so pleased to bring it back this year.
“Congratulations to Maryanne who managed to raise an incredible £1,210.98 for The Salvation Army and snap up a whole load of Aldi treats for herself.”
The research has been conducted by the discount retailer in partnership with The Happiness Guy
Aldi’s Gorgie Edinburgh store has been revealed as the happiest in Scotland, following research by The UK’s Cheapest Supermarket.
The popular discount retailer worked with distinguished wellbeing expert, The Happiness Guy, to investigate the happiness levels of staff across its Scottish stores.
The survey looked at factors such as proximity to the outdoors, relationships with colleagues, tendencies to feeling joy and excitement, as well as sleeping habits to determine the happiest store in Scotland.
Aldi has 104 stores in Scotland located in all corners of the country, from Aberdeen to Hawick. The retailer, which prides itself on creating positive and supportive places to work, is set to be the highest paying supermarket in the UK following its second pay increase of 2023.
Its Gorgie store is situated on Gorgie Park Road in the west of Edinburgh. It first opened in 2009, and employs 18 staff who work hard to help shoppers pick up great deals at Aldi’s famously low prices.
Richard Holloway, Managing Director, Aldi Scotland, said:“At Aldi, creating a positive working environment where our employees feel supported and appreciated is as important to us as our commitment to bringing customers amazingly low deals on quality food and drink.
“We saw strong levels of job satisfaction across all our stores, and lots of indications that our colleagues have formed real, deep friendships with one another.
“Our Gorgie Edinburgh store is located in a bustling part of Edinburgh. A stone’s throw from the Capital City and surrounded by vibrant restaurants, cafes and bars, there is always something happening here, making it a popular area for people to live.
“Gorgie has a really solid community and our Aldi store has become an integral part of the neighborhood. We welcome a lot of the same faces on a daily basis and our staff have a really good rapport with our regular customers. While I’m sure it’s our incredibly low prices that first attract people through our doors, I am confident that it’s the high levels of customer service that sees customers coming back again and again.”
Gordon McCrorie, The Happiness Guy said: “Each of us has our own unique formula for happiness which will include things like feeling grateful, spending time with loved ones, doing things that matter to us and looking after ourselves.
“Taking responsibility for influencing our own happiness might just be the thing that improves the world we live in the most.”
The discount retailer, named UK’s cheapest supermarket for 2021 and 2022 by consumer experts, Which?, currently works with over 90 Scottish suppliers, stocking 450 Scottish products. In 2022, Aldi was awarded Scottish Sourcing Business of the Year at the Scotland Food and Drink Excellence Awards.
A trial community contact project is running in Gorgie Dalry to make it easier for local people to reach the services and support that the Council offers.
Citizen Space at Tynecastle Community Wing is a test site that enables residents to access Council services in a convenient local setting.
The new trial team has been specially trained to help people there and then with Council services like ordering a new wheelie bin or informing of problems with local street lights. They can also link residents to the right community groups and other places they can get support.
If people would like help and advice with other things – such as housing, neighbourhood disputes or debt – the team will invite them for a longer discussion about how they can help.
The Council’s customer teams provide an important point of contact for residents looking to access Council services. Locality offices continue to offer an essential route for those seeking help and support.
The need to deliver more proactive services closer to people across the city is part of the Council’s 20-minute neighbourhood strategy. This will allow everyone to live well locally and meet most of their daily needs from within their own community by walking, cycling, wheeling or taking public transport.
Council Leader Cammy Day met with the team and Citizens Advice Edinburgh colleagues involved in the project on Tuesday to see their work in action.
Council Leader Cammy Day, said: “We want to make sure that everyone living in Edinburgh can easily reach the services and support that the Council offers. We’re working with our local partners and communities to plan and deliver services that meet everyone’s needs in a better way.
“Citizen Space at Tynecastle Community Wing provides exactly that – a new convenient and welcoming space that’s making it easier for people to use our services and receive advice.
“This is all part of our plan to support everyone’s wellbeing and end poverty and isolation in Edinburgh. These local community hubs will bring daily services together for everyone to help create more social and liveable communities.”
The Citizen Space is a drop-in facility for residents to use as they need it, but the team is also regularly out and about in the area to speak with local people and see how they can help. Look out for them in their 20-Minute Neighbourhood team jackets.
Kinship carers urged to check Scottish Child Payment eligibility
Kinship carers are being urged to check if they could be entitled to the Scottish Child Payment, after eligibility was expanded to include more of them last year.
The call comes at the start of Scottish Kinship Care Week, which celebrates the role of extended family or friends who care for children when they cannot remain with their birth parents.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon met with a group of kinship carers yesterday at an annual big breakfast hosted by the Big Hearts Community Trust at Tynecastle Park to thank them and highlight the extra support available via the Scottish Child Payment and other Scottish social security benefits.
Big Hearts’ Kinship Care programme was launched in 2015 and offers a range of support for young people and their carers, including after school clubs, coffee mornings, and wellbeing advice.
The First Minister said: “We owe kinship carers an enormous debt of gratitude for the role they play in providing loving and secure homes for children and young people, and it’s vital they receive every penny of support they’re entitled to.
“In line with our commitment to tackling child poverty, we increased the Scottish Child Payment to £25 a week per eligible child last year, and expanded the eligibility criteria to include more kinship carers.
“We want to ensure everyone gets the financial support they are entitled to, so I’d encourage carers to check whether they’re entitled to receive the Scottish Child Payment and any other Scottish Government benefits.
“In addition to the fantastic support provided by charities like Big Hearts, there are a range of events for kinship carers taking place across the country this week, and free advice and guidance is also available from the Kinship Care Advice Service for Scotland website.”
Craig Wilson, Big Hearts’ General Manager said: “It was fantastic to welcome Scotland’s First Minister to Tynecastle Park for the start of Scottish Kinship Care Week.
“We are so proud to work with so many amazing kinship care families and for many years we’ve strived to raise the profile of kinship carers and highlight the support they can and should receive.
“There’s no doubt that today adds to that and we want kinship carers to know there is always a warm and welcoming place for them here at Big Hearts.”
Aldi Scotland’s Supermarket Sweep challenge has returned for another year, and customers in Edinburgh have the chance to raise money for a local foodbank of their choice.
The game-show inspired supermarket challenge is guaranteed to make doing the weekly shop more fun. Edinburgh residents have the opportunity to pick up their favourite items from Aldi’s store on Gorgie Park Road.
Launched in 2016, Aldi’s Supermarket Sweep gives shoppers the chance to do a five-minute trolley dash and take home all the Aldi favourites they can grab in that time. Aldi will also donate the cash value of the trolley to a local foodbank.
The lucky shopper also has a chance to double this cash donation and take home a SpecialBuy item of their choice* if they successfully find a hidden inflatable instore.
Edinburgh residents can apply for the Supermarket Sweep from Monday 6 March to Sunday 12 March.
Richard Holloway, Managing Director for Scotland, said:“The Supermarket Sweep is an event in the Aldi calendar that we always look forward to. We are pleased to be bringing the initiative back for yet another year, and to offer one lucky Edinburgh resident the chance to have a truly unique supermarket experience.
“Foodbanks across Scotland are working tirelessly to help those who need their services the most, especially during these challenging times. Last year we donated almost £10,000 to foodbanks through Supermarket Sweep, and we want to build on this in 2023.
“From Glasgow to Aberdeen, Aldi’s Supermarket Sweep will be travelling all over Scotland this year. Not only are they a fun way to raise money for local foodbanks, but they also give our loyal customers the opportunity to stock up on their favourite Aldi products.”
Shoppers will be asked to nominate their chosen foodbank when applying to take part. Entrants must be over 18 years old to take part, and alcohol products and Specialbuys are not included in the sweep.
