Tag: community support

A warm, welcome space for you this winter at Granton Parish Church

Granton Parish Church will be open and warm for anyone to use over the winter. Every Thursday and Friday between 9am and 3pm.

Thursdays mainly quiet for chat, work, reading, while Fridays are less quiet with families welcome.

Free hot drinks, wifi and phone charging.

www.warmgranton.info

Tesco Bank donates hundreds of Chromebook laptops to charities

Hundreds of vulnerable people will benefit from free Chromebooks, donated by Tesco Bank to local charities across Glasgow, Edinburgh and Newcastle.

Around 400 refurbished Chromebooks will be given to charities which support vulnerable groups including refugees, low-income households and school pupils. Recipients include Tesco Bank’s recently announced charity partner, The Trussell Trust.

One of the other charities to benefit from the donated equipment is Dnipro Kids in Edinburgh , a charity which is supporting children who have arrived in the UK from an orphanage in Dnipro, Ukraine.

40 Chromebooks have been donated to give the children the opportunity to get back on track with schoolwork, and for them and their orphanage mothers to learn English and keep in touch with friends back home.

Earlier this year Tesco Bank announced The Trussell Trust as one of two new charity partners.  The Trussell Trust, which is campaigning for change to end the need for food banks in the UK, has accepted a donation of 20 Chromebooks.  These will support the Trussell Trust’s work to build relationships with people experiencing financial hardship. 

Lynne Rennie-Smith, Director of Colleague Experience at Tesco Bank, said; “Tesco Bank has a proud record of supporting the communities in which we operate. 

“I’m delighted we’re donating these Chromebooks to local charities who tell us they will help vulnerable groups to build confidence, learn new skills, and stay connected.”

Jade Lewsey, Corporate Partnerships Manager, at Trussell Trust, said; “The Trussell Trust Participation team builds relationships with people experiencing financial hardship, and works with them as partners in our movement to end the need for food banks. Our work includes people from lots of different backgrounds, ages and locations.

“Some members use mobile phones to attend meetings and read business materials, as they don’t have access to, or cannot afford other tech. The Chromebooks donated by Tesco Bank will help create a better experience and reduce connectivity barriers for our partners and support their work across a number of different Trussell Trust programmes.”

Other organisations to receive donations include Glasgow Ukrainian Hub, Shawlands Academy in Glasgow and Spring Gardens Primary in Newcastle. Each of the charities to receive a donation of Chromebooks was suggested by Tesco Bank colleagues. Additional charities will be selected shortly.

As well as supporting local charities including partner charities Maggie’s and the Trussell Trust, Tesco Bank is proud to utilise its ATM network to support a number of national causes including the NSPCC, The British Heart Foundation and the Disasters Emergency Committee.

Tesco Bank has offered customers the opportunity to make charitable donations of up to £300 through its ATMs since 2012, raising over £750,000 for good causes.

Stewart Milne Homes Helps Community to Flourish

Residents in Danderhall have welcomed a donation from leading housebuilder, Stewart Milne Homes, which has been used to enhance the area with the creation of allotment space, flowering gardens and wildlife habitats.

The £1,000 funding for Danderhall Primary School has been used to support community-wide initiatives, implemented in partnership with local gardening club, Danderhall & District Guerrilla Gardeners.

The group, which has already made a range of outdoor community improvements over the last year, is currently working with the school to take groups of pupils outdoors each week in a bid to encourage them to get green fingered and engage them in protecting nature and the environment.

This month primary five pupils are planting a variety of fruit trees and making bespoke planters from recyclable pallet wood in a nearby allotment space that was previously unused land before the gardening team began the transformation.

The work undertaken by the group and pupils is helping to revive the space whilst encouraging children to enjoy the outdoors and adopt healthy lifestyle choices. 

The Stewart Milne Homes funding has been used to purchase starter gardening packs for pupils including gardening gloves, trowels and forks, pots, hyacinth bulbs and compost, craft materials and litter grabbers

It has also gone towards the purchase of wildlife habitats including hedgehog homes and bird boxes which have been installed across the village.

As well as the funding, Stewart Milne Homes also provided hi-vis jackets for the school children to wear when they are out and about in the village, helping to keep them safe.

As Stewart Milne Homes progresses the development of its new Shawfair community, a collection of three, four, five and six bedroom homes nestled on the edge of The Wisp and the village of Danderhall that will create 115 homes for the growing neighbourhood, the housebuilder plans to continue to support the school and work with local community groups on a range of different initiatives.

Kevin Moreland, Marketing Manager at Stewart Milne Homes, said: “The level of work undertaken across Danderhall by the Guerrilla Gardeners and youngsters is fantastic, and it is clearly creating a positive impact for the multigenerational local community. 

“Stewart Milne Homes is committed to supporting the communities where we build in and we are very proud to support the school with funding to enable a range of outdoor initiatives, which are integral to creating thriving neighbourhoods.

“It was great to get out and meet some of the keen gardeners to see first-hand the change they’re making which will complement our nearby Shawfair development which has been built with a people-first approach, with active travel links connecting the site to the wider village.”

David Halliday, Principal Teacher at Danderhall Primary School, said: “Encouraging and capitalising on the opportunity to experience learning and new challenges in the outdoor environment is integral to our curriculum, and the funding from Stewart Milne Homes is a brilliant boost to the opportunities that we can offer our pupils.

“The hi-vis vests will be used year-round as we encourage our pupils to get out of the classroom and allow themselves to experience new hobbies, such as gardening, as much as possible.

“We are looking forward to continuing our partnership with the Danderhall & District Guerrilla Gardeners as it is now a weekly highlight for the pupils who have developed a love for gardening and creating new areas in the village that they can be proud of. It really is a great example of a community coming together to create a force for good.”

Helen Graham, member of Danderhall & District Guerrilla Gardeners, said: “It has been a pleasure to meet local youngsters and encourage them to get outdoors to learn more about the garden, plants and wildlife.

“The Guerrillas have been busy working across Danderhall and surrounding villages to enhance the area with bright plants and foliage, and in turn it has brought together a number of likeminded individuals and created friendships and social opportunities, which is an added bonus.

“We have big plans to continue the revival of the village and we invite anyone in the local area with a passion for gardening or the outdoors to get involved as we work together to create a vibrant and inclusive neighbourhood.”

For more information about the Stewart Milne Homes’ Shawfair development, visit: https://www.stewartmilnehomes.com/new-homes/neighbourhoods/shawfair

Morrisons give colleagues over 25,000 hours to help communities

Morrisons Community Champions will be spending over 25,000 hours supporting local communities in run up to Christmas

Morrisons is committing over 25,000 Community Champion hours to spreading kindness this Christmas within local communities up and down the UK.

Across 12 days, our team of over 500 Community Champions – who support charities and community groups in their local community – will carry out thousands of acts of kindness. This will include donating gifts to key workers, giving away flowers and mistletoe, making donations to local food banks and surprising customers with gestures of kindness.

Other acts of kindness will be:

  • Gifting hampers to local heroes who have played a big part in supporting their local community
  • Donating gifts to families in need of support
  • Handing out ‘Be kind to yourself’ pamper packs to customers
  • Delivering gifts for local food bank volunteers
  • Surprising customers in our café and paying for their meal
  • Taking carrots to nurseries for children to leave out for Rudolph
  • Donating decorations to local refuge centres and volunteering to help decorate
  • Spending time helping prepare food at local community kitchens

Since the start of the Covid-19 global pandemic, we have donated more than £12 million of products to local food banks and community groups and raised almost £6 million for charity partners. 

Rebecca Singleton, Community Director at Morrisons, said: “After seeing how much hope and joy was spread last Christmas, we knew we had to bring back our 12 Days of Kindness again this year.

“I am incredibly proud of our Community Champions who go above and beyond every day for those in need. Doing the right thing for our customers and the communities we serve has never been more important, so these 25,000 hours are dedicated to spreading festive cheer – and making good things happen for everyone this Christmas.”

Throughout December, we will also be giving away over a quarter of a million free Christmas cards for children to spread messages of hope.

Our Community Champions will be working in partnership with local groups and primary schools to deliver the cards for children to write messages on and colour in. 

The children can post their cards to grandparents, neighbours and friends who they may not have seen recently due to the pandemic, or give them back to us to distribute to care homes and customers using our Doorstep Delivery service.

This activity is expected to impact tens of thousands of people living throughout the UK and follows our mission to help tackle loneliness within communities this festive period.

For more information, visit: www.morrisons.co.uk.  

Morrisons helps food banks and community groups with Christmas ‘Giving Tree’

Morrisons is giving customers a new way to help those in need during the festive period by installing a Christmas ‘Giving Tree’ in all its stores, where customers can pick up a bauble worth £1, £2 or £5 to donate to a local food bank or community group nominated by their store.

From today, all 498 Morrisons stores will be putting up their tree with the aim of raising over half a million pounds for a variety of food banks and local communities throughout November and December, which is traditionally the most difficult time for many people.

Customers looking to donate can pick a bauble and take it to the checkouts along with their shopping. Each bauble has a barcode on the back for the checkout colleague to scan, and add £1, £2 or £5 to the customer’s bill.

Since the start of the pandemic, Morrisons has worked closely with food banks and communities across the UK and donated more than £12 million pounds to groups across the UK to ensure no one is left behind.

Morrisons will also continue offering their popular food bank ‘Pick Up Packs’ in stores throughout the festive period as well as bringing back its Gift Donation Stations where customers can donate new gifts. Donated items are passed on to local good causes and charities in the local community.

Rebecca Singleton, Community Director at Morrisons, said: “Christmas can be a challenging time and food banks are a lifeline for many people in the UK. We want to make it easier for our customers to donate in whatever way they can to help those in their local community get the items they need.

“The Giving Tree will give customers a unique and festive way to support local food banks and community groups.”

The Giving Tree initiative is part of Morrisons drive to stock Britain’s food banks and continue feeding the nation and will feature in all 498 Morrisons stores until the 24th December.

Aldi donates over 22,000 meals to Edinburgh and Lothian charities over the school summer holidays

ALDI – GLASCOTE TAMWORTH FOOD DONATION – TAMWORTH HEART CHARITY Pictures by Adam Fradgley Pictured: Lisa Richards (Aldi) and Simon Peaple (Tamworth Heart) with the trolley of donated items at the Tamworth store

Local charities across Edinburgh and the Lothians helped Aldi donate 22,752 meals to people in need over the summer school holidays.

The supermarket paired up its stores with local charities, community groups and foodbanks to donate surplus food, with the majority of meals going to causes supporting families and children.

The donation is part of Aldi’s commitment to donate 10 million meals across the country in 2021, in partnership with community giving platform Neighbourly.

Mary Dunn, Managing Director of Corporate Responsibility at Aldi UK, said: “We were proud to support so many incredible causes across Edinburgh and the Lothians this summer, helping them to donate meals to those in need.

“The school holidays can be a hard time for families, particularly when many are experiencing heightened financial hardship due to the pandemic, and this is why we committed to donating more meals than ever before.”

Steve Butterworth, from Neighbourly, added: “The summer school holidays are always one of the busiest times for the nation’s charities and food banks, but this year things were even busier. Aldi’s donations have never been more of a vital support to these organisations.”

Aldi stores across the country work with Neighbourly to partner with local charities, who can collect surplus food and perishable products, such as fruit, vegetables and baked goods, up to seven days a week.

Urban Union and Muirhouse Housing Association support Millennium Centre with £15,000 donation

Urban Union, as part of their community benefit programmes for the City of Edinburgh Council, and Muirhouse Housing Association (MHA) have together provided over £15,000 in ongoing support to the Muirhouse Millennium Centre in the north of Edinburgh since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020.

Muirhouse Millennium Centre, run in partnership with Low Income Families Together (LIFT), aims to relieve poverty among the residents of the surrounding areas, provide recreational and leisure facilities, and promote education and training in skills of all kinds.

During the first wave of the pandemic, from March to October, the cash boosts from MHA and the developer behind Pennywell Living helped the Millennium Centre become a major player in food distribution in the north of Edinburgh.

Since then and throughout the two lockdowns, the money has helped fund over 5,000 food parcels, 22,000 packed lunches, 6,000 ready meals, as well as baby formula and nappies for local families and homeless accommodation.

Adapting their recreational support service, the Millennium Centre also delivered over 500 play packs and activity resources, allowing children to continue taking part in the Centre’s homework and youth clubs through Zoom.  In October, once children were allowed to be welcomed back, the Centre used the funding to deliver five sessions a week to reduce isolation and strengthen social skills after being at home for the duration of the first lockdown.

As part of their community benefits mission, Urban Union has previously also supported Muirhouse Library’s Breakfast Club to ensure local children had a nutritious start to their day as well as helping Pennywell School build their STEM curriculum, recently launching a STEM-based learning project.

Neil McKay, Managing Director of Urban Union, said: “Our focus at Urban Union is to not only regenerate a physical landscape, but to create strong relationships and support the communities in which our developments are based. We are ecstatic to have been able to support the Millennium Centre and LIFT throughout a very challenging period for many families.

“We are always happy to give something back to the Muirhouse community and we will continue to offer opportunities for local people and support for the most vulnerable in the area.”

Iain Strachan, Chair of the Muirhouse Housing Association added: “Muirhouse Housing Association is dedicated to supporting our tenants and local community.

“This last year has been one of the most challenging in our near 30 years of being part of the Muirhouse community. We are glad that we can work with Muirhouse Millennium Centre and LIFT in supporting local people and families during a very difficult time and will continue to do so in the future.”

Pauline Bowie, Managing Director of Low Income Families Together said: “We are very grateful for this generous donation from Urban Union and MHA which has made a real tangible difference to children and families alike across Edinburgh during an extremely difficult time.

“The Centre relies on funding to deliver our programmes and reach those who need it the most. Everyone deserves a chance in life, and donations like this allow for local people in challenging situations to access different forms of support.”

City of Edinburgh Council’s Convener of Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work, Councillor Kate Campbell said: “During this crisis, we’ve worked together to put our most vulnerable residents first and making sure people can access the right support when and where they need it has been an absolute priority.

“It’s great to see our development partner Urban Union and Muirhouse Housing Association providing this much needed funding for Muirhouse Millennium Centre’s invaluable work, and the positive impact it’s had on the community’s families and children since the beginning of the pandemic.”

Pennywell Living is the centre of an exciting 8-year regeneration project as part of the City of Edinburgh Council’s house-building programme.

Now in phase three, the development offers an exceptional range of 315 one to four bedroom flats and houses designed for modern living. Over half of these will be for affordable rent.

Urban Union regenerates areas across Scotland to create revitalised communities through building new, high quality, affordable homes.

Across each of its developments, Urban Union aims to deliver sustainable long-term benefits to the new and surrounding neighbourhoods, with job and training opportunities, ensuring the community will benefit from the projects for years to come.

To find out more about Urban Union, visit: https://www.urbanunionltd.co.uk/

To find out more about the Millennium Centre, visit: https://www.lift-edinburgh.com/muirhouse-millennium

Edinburgh street lighting contract puts communities at the forefront

Amey’s Edinburgh Street Lighting team have been working with the City of Edinburgh Council to upgrade over 64,000 LED streetlights since the contract went live in 2018 with works creating 20-year savings in excess of £54million. But it’s the difference the team is making to local communities that is a light bulb moment.

Through the unique way the contract was modelled the teams have undertaking over 35 community activities, each benefiting from time devoted to social value – enabling the team to give back to local people and communities.

The upgrading and maintenance programme began in June 2018 and has involved more than 55,000 street lightings, approximately 1,600 street lighting column replacements and various auxiliary electrical elements throughout the streets of Edinburgh in Scotland.

In addition to installing the most up-to-date LED technology, the team has also installed a dynamic street lighting control management system that allows for centralised, more efficient management of the lighting, reducing the need for people to report faults as these are now being automatically picked up.  These maintenance repair works has helped the city to reduce CO2 emissions in compliance with SEEP (Scotland’s Energy Efficiency Programme).

However, the unique way the contract was modelled has meant that the street lighting team have been directly involved in helping local communities and initiatives through putting social value at the forefront during the tendering stages of contract development.

Social value on Edinburgh Street Lighting contract is measured by a points-based system. Amey committed to achieving 720 community benefit points throughout the duration of the three-year contract, which is due to end this year, and has to date surpassed expectations by achieving 1,764 points. 

Points are obtained through Amey’s street lighting team being involved in local events and participating in community projects.

Some of the activities the team have been involved with include attending careers fair, Christmas gift collections, foodbank collections to upgrading a play area for children with both physical and mental disabilities to assisting painting a homeless shelter and upgrading the lighting at a neighbourhood centre and at a Scout hall.

During COVID, involvement in social value programmes weren’t put on hold either, the team adapted to the challenge and hosted virtual quizzes to raise money for prostate cancer and were involved in local foodbank collections for example.

A Spokesperson for the City of Edinburgh Council said: “Community Benefits are at the heart of this Contract and are measured in Community Benefits Points.

“Amey have taken this role seriously and have actively participated in events, carrying out improvement works in community setting and have received much praise from those whom they have helped. Currently, Amey have secured approximately 50 per cent more points than they are contractually obliged to.”

Nick Powell Account Director for Amey’s Street Lighting business said: “Working in collaboration with the City of Edinburgh Council has been the key to the success of this contract partnership which started in June 2018.

“Fully immersing ourselves in community life has enabled us to deliver a successful community programme which has seen the team volunteer their time at community days, career fairs Christmas gift and foodbank collections as well as upgrading a play area for children with both physical and mental disabilities – activities our team are proud to have been involved with. Due to the way the contract was set up – it’s given our teams the opportunity to be fully immersed within the communities that we serve.”

Amey recognises the opportunity to have a positive impact on the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of the communities in which it operates. It has recently released it’s 2020 Social Value Plan which outlines its achievements in this space to date and ambitions for the years ahead.

For more information about Amey’s commitment to social value visit:

www.amey.co.uk/social-value