Tag: Fresh Start

Make Edinburgh greener: Vote for your favourite environmental projects

EDINBURGH COMMUNITY CLIMATE FUND

You have five votes – but you must vote by 12th March.

Dozens of organisations have applied for a share of the £100,00 budget. Here are just a few of the projects looking for your support:

Seedlings to Seniors (Corstorphine Community Centre)

We need your votes for the CCC project ‘Seedlings to Seniors’ to get a share in the Edinburgh Community Climate Fund.

Full details of how to vote are on our website here : 

https://corstorphinecommunitycentre.org.uk

or go straight to the Council page listing the projects at: 

https://yourvoice.edinburgh.gov.uk/budgets/1/investments

Note: registration with mygovscot is required in order to vote.

Edinburgh Climate Festival (ELREC)

Hey Edinburgh community!

The voting for the Edinburgh Community Climate Fund from The City of Edinburgh Councilis open and our project, Edinburgh Climate Festival is a part of it.

We need your help to make The Edinburgh Climate Festival a reality, so please vote for our project today!

You have 5 votes to support not only our project but other outstanding ones as well.

Here’s a guide on how to vote for The Edinburgh Climate Festival:

Step one: If you’re an adult, register on myaccount https://www.mygov.scot/myaccount to cast your vote. This is a secure online portal that provides access to various public services using a single login ID and password. You can find a registration guide on the Edinburgh Council website. Young people under 18 can vote through Young Scot https://getyournec.scot/ using their Young Scot NEC number.

Step two: Once your account is active, visit Your Voice website : https://yourvoice.edinburgh.gov.uk/ and sign in using your myaccount details.

Help us create a sustainable future for Edinburgh!🌎🌲🍃

#VoteNow#SustainabilityMatters#GreenerEdinburgh

Community wellbeing for climate impact (Ferryhill Parent Council)

We are a parent council groups that’s passionate able helping the children learn and thrive in the community.

This project will enable us to create a forest school within the school grounds, giving the whole school the ability to learn more about climate through hands on learning.

We will also be looking to add to the schools existing orchard with some raised beds for the children to grow food and learn about sustainable practice. We also plan on linking up with the local community centre to support the garden project.

Starter Packs Project (Fresh Start)

Since 1999 Fresh Start has been supporting people moving on from homelessness to ‘make a home for themselves’ across Edinburgh. Responding to people with lived experience of homelessness we provide practical support as people move on from temporary accommodation into new unfurnished tenancies.

Our service-users typically are allocated unfurnished properties and do not have the means to purchase the goods that make a home. Fresh Start provides Starter Packs of essential household goods – crockery, pots/pans, bedding, towels – to homeless households within the first 3 days of them moving in to their new tenancies, relieving financial burden and ensuring they have the essentials they need to settle in their new home.

We supply 13 different Starter Packs of quality used-household goods which are donated by the public and local businesses. Teams of volunteers gather in these donations and sort them in our warehouse for distribution.  

In 2022 we distribute 14,430 packs and helped over 2,000 people moving out of temporary Housing. We diverted 75,500 kg (75.5 t.) of goods from landfill.

Community Shed (North Edinburgh Arts)

Vote for the North Edinburgh Arts Community Shed and support our ambitions for a more sustainable future!

Our Community Shed has been nominated for The City of Edinburgh Council‘s Edinburgh Community Climate Fund, and you can vote for it as part of the public participatory budgeting process until 12th March.

The primary focus of the Community Shed is to reuse wood and wooden furniture to enable our members to make and mend things for their homes, gardens and communities. Each year in Scotland we throw away tons of stuff into landfill, including wood and furniture, that should be recycled, reused, mended or made into something completely different and the Community Shed does its bit to convert this waste into useful and beautiful things.

Since its launch four years ago, the Shed has become a key community project in North Edinburgh with over 150 members. Being part of the Community Shed has a significantly positive impact on our members’ lives by improving their self-confidence, giving them meaning and purpose, making new friends and social connections, as well as providing them with an informal support network.

The Edinburgh Community Climate funding will enable us to purchase new much-needed technical equipment to cut and process wood, which will help speed up our processes while also significantly improving the quality of our output.

Please support our work and help create a greener community by casting your vote today!

This is a chance for you to decide how the Edinburgh Council money is spent on things that matter to you and your community.

Vote online at yourvoice.edinburgh.gov.uk/budgets/1/investments/10 by using/creating your own account.

For those under 18 wishing to vote this can be done through Young Scot using your Young Scot NEC number. School libraries will be offering supported voting too.

If you would like to vote in person, please visit your local library.

For information for our local residents, Muirhouse Library is currently located in the foyer of Edinburgh College Granton campus near Morrisons (350 West Granton Road), and its opening times are as follows:

Monday – Friday: 10am to 5pm

Saturday: 10am to 4pm

Make sure you vote before 12 March.

Thank you for your support, and please share with your friends and families as every vote counts! 💙💙💙

All Aboard for Climate Action (People Know How)

The All Aboard canal boat run by People Know How and Polwarth Parish Church has been shortlisted in the Edinburgh Climate Community Fund to receive funding to run climate change sessions with children and young people on the Union Canal.

These organisations are now looking for votes from the public, which will decide the final projects that will receive the funding. 

The climate change sessions will focus on engaging children and young people with nature and the local environment and exploring the impact of climate change. Using fun and engaging activities, we will introduce them to small everyday actions that they can take at home and in their community to help tackle climate change. 

The sessions will be open to pupils from local primary schools that People Know How work with as part of their Positive Transitions service, supporting children, young people and families in the transition to secondary school.

They will draw on the charity’s established experience of running groups across Edinburgh and East Lothian, including previous sessions on All Aboard that have introduced young people to a green space in the heart of their community, seeing plants and wildlife up close. 

All Aboard was launched in 2021 and aims to nurture community cohesion and wellbeing in an innovative space on the Union Canal. It is open to the community, serving as a safe space in which to explore the canal, find new experiences and socialise, while surrounded by nature. 

To vote, visit the webpage below and select All Aboard for Climate Action as one of your five projects. Voting is open to all Edinburgh residents over the age of 8 and can be done online or at your local public library. Please note, you must use all 5 votes for your selections to be valid.

Further instructions can be found via the link below.

Vote today: https://yourvoice.edinburgh.gov.uk/budgets

£27 million to tackle disadvantage

Community projects tackling poverty and disadvantage will receive £27 million funding over the next three years.

Food pantries which help lower food bills and cost of living advice services are among the 100 initiatives developed by local people set to receive grants from the Investing in Communities Fund.

Among the successful Edinburgh bids are Community Renewal, who receive funding for Our Neighbourhood: A new hyperlocal Community Wealth Building partnership, Dr Bell’s Family Centre (Start Well, Live Well: Wellbeing Support for Families in Leith programme), Fresh Start (Fresh Connections) and North Edinburgh Arts (Link Up).

Other Edinburgh projects to receive funding include The Broomhouse Centre, The Venchie Children and Young People’s Project and WHALE Arts Agency in Wester Hailes.

Final details of the grants allocated will be made public after letters of acceptance have been received.

Supported projects are delivering multiple activities, including:

  • debt and benefit advice to avoid electricity and gas disconnection or eviction for rent arrears in South East Glasgow
  • a furniture reuse scheme in Inverness and a swap and repair shop in West Lothian
  • community food growing in South West Glasgow
  • school uniform exchanges and supporting parents into employment in South Lanarkshire
  • help for mothers establishing micro businesses in South West Edinburgh
  • training for jobseekers and counselling to address mental health and substance abuse issues in the Borders

Community Wealth Minister Tom Arthur said: “This fund will help directly address issues facing disadvantaged communities, such as unemployment and food insecurity.

“We have been clear that the Scottish Budget is prioritising our limited resources to tackle child poverty, invest in our transition to net zero, and protect public services. And the projects supported through Investing in Communities speak to these priorities.

“Many will help ease immediate challenges from the cost of living crisis but also support communities in delivering longer term plans to address poverty.”

Investing in Communities

communities-fund-awardsDownload

Everyday English at Fresh Start

We will be providing an improvers English Class at Fresh Start Hub beginning on 21st February,

This is for people who can already speak, read and write English and who want to practise their language.

It will be in a small group of up to 8 people and be based on topics such as ‘At the supermarket’, ‘Talking about family’, ‘At the doctors’, ‘asking for directions’ . There will be a little grammar and vocabulary taught as well as listening, reading and speaking practice.

We continue to run English classes on Thursdays 2-4pm at the Hub, and people are welcome to come along to these, although they are targeted at absolute beginners.

For further info contact Abi at Abigail@freshstartweb.org.uk

Fresh Start garden goes solar!

A community growing hub which helps people who have been homeless has become the latest local project to benefit from the Council’s community benefits scheme.

Following a great deal of community-based support from buildings solutions service John G Mackintosh (JGM), Pilton-based charity Fresh Start is now benefitting from a new solar power pack – meaning green-fingered volunteers can put the kettle on and enjoy a chat and a tea break while their garden tools charge up.

Allowing everyone involved in the Fresh Start community garden at Ferry Road Drive to shelter from the elements, JGM’s community benefits also includes a new leisure unit, new tables and growing tubs worth £12,000.

Fresh Start is an Edinburgh based charity helping people who have been homeless get established in their new home. Working with volunteers and community organisations, it delivers a range of services which provide practical and social support to help people resettle successfully.

Councillor Jane Meagher, Edinburgh’s Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener, said: “When someone has experienced homelessness, it can be a daunting and difficult transition to a new home, a new local community and a new way of life.

“We have an incredible third sector in Edinburgh and charities like Fresh Start offer support to people as they settle in. Gardening is a great way to connect with others and with nature in your area. It’s also an opportunity to learn new skills and I’m really pleased we’ve been able to support this community growing initiative. The donations and time clearly mean a lot and will make a big difference.

“As the largest social landlord in the city the Council has a great number of projects underway at any given time to improve or build new homes. Our community benefits scheme is a way for the contractors we employ in housing to give back and we’ve been impressed by John G Mackintosh’s response.

“It follows their £3.5m contract with us to upgrade vents at six multi-storey Council blocks in Moredun, and now this investment providing safe and warm homes is going full circle.”

Adrienne Mee, Community Growing Manager at Fresh Start, said: “The help we’ve received for the project has exceeded our expectations. The installation of the container is perfect for our planned tool lending library as well as shelter from the weather during gardening sessions. In the spring we will be able to offer garden workshops and tools for people in the area.

“It’s a great resource and we hope it will encourage people to have a go at gardening and help them develop their back greens or grow fruit or vegetables on their balconies. The tables and planters will help us to make this a really nice area for people who live in the flats to relax and enjoy being outside once the weather warms up.”

John Gellatly, Director of John G Mackintosh (JGM), said: “When JGM first became aware that as part of the Communities Benefit program there was an exciting opportunity to put something back into the community that was tangible, we were excited about the potential of this.

“After initial discussions and consultation, we were made aware of the Community Garden project at West Pilton, where JGM met up with the Council and Fresh Start to discuss the project further. We established the best position to site a lockable 20 foot container and agreed the design and layout of the paving to interwork with the existing garden area and the new storage container.

“Using JGM’s experience in the sector, it became apparent that in providing a solar panel solution for the container this attribute would add significantly to the benefits and flexibility that the users would have in using the container for their desired requirements.

“Over two visits JGM firstly did all the groundworks and sited the container in the chosen position and on their second visit the solar panel and internal electrics were added.  Some additional works were carried out to install shelving and line the walls within the container, plus some planters and picnic bench seating were supplied to enhance the experience of the end users.”

New Year, Fresh Start: Five hacks to declutter your home this January

Simple, influencer-approved tips that won’t break the bank

New year, clean slate? While most of us will be focused on our own personal development in the new year, January is also the perfect time to invest in your home and give it some extra TLC.

But breathing life into your home doesn’t have to break the bank. Using empty space, donating unused clothes to charity or even a fresh lick of paint are just some ideas, but knowing where to start can be tricky.

Amy McElhaney, known to her 17K Instagram followers as Amy’s Home Life, lives in Barratt Homes’ St Clement Wells development on the outskirts of Edinburgh.

A crafty home economics teacher by day, the 27-year-old blogger moved into her three-bed Wemyss home with her husband Scott, 29, in 2019 and has since spent the last four years making their house a home.

Below are her simple, budget-friendly tips to help declutter your home, create more space and give it that New Year clean feel:

  1. Learn to love labels

My favourite things to have in the kitchen are personalised storage containers, with labels. This means I have less packaging and more space for food. It also means I can easily find ingredients when cooking and baking.

I love using my Cricut machine at home, but labellers like the Brother P-touch Cube are great too and can connect to your phone. For cheaper solutions, good old-fashioned stickers or paper and a pen work a treat.

  1. Hidden gems

We purchased storage boxes that are the same colour as our kitchen cupboards, which sit above our kitchen cabinets. It allows me to put the equipment I use less regularly and my recipe books in a safe place, but not cluttering up the house.

Supermarkets like ASDA have some cheap storage solutions that can be easily be picked up on your weekly shop. If you’re a regular shopper at Tesco, vouchers from Clubcard points can also be used towards covering the value.

  1. Rack it up

I cook from scratch most days, so my collection of herbs and spices is rather large. To save shelf space, we bought a spice rack which is a screwed onto a cupboard door. It is perfect as it saves space and makes finding jars easy.

Ikea have some basic spice racks under £5, or you can pick up in-cupboard racks for just over a tenner in stores like B&Q.

  1. Utilise hidden space

Being smart with space is always essential and buying an Ottoman bed really helped us with this. We have plastic box underneath for all bedding, towels, summer/winter clothes and then things like board games. It’s organised whilst also being hidden!

Wilko, The Range and Dunelm all have options that can be used for under beds, starting at under £10.

  1. On your marks, get set, clean!

To keep the house tidy after a good clear out and declutter, I set daily 30-minute timers to do my cleaning. I set the timer, put on an upbeat playlist and tackle jobs to save me doing it at the weekend. I find this essential when we both work full time and allows our weekends for fun stuff only!

Spotify has loads of pre-made playlists that are specific to cleaning and can also act as a timer for completing tasks.

For more information on Barratt Developments in Scotland, visit:

https://www.barratthomes.co.uk/new-homes/scotland-east/ 

Fresh Start to introduce Saturday Night Suppers

Introducing Saturday Night Suppers!

This new initiative will provide local people and families with a bag of tasty ingredients and recipe card to make a lovely meal capable of serving 4-6 people over the weekend.

This scheme will begin on 3rd March and run every Friday throughout March.

If you, or someone you are working with is interested in taking part, please email cooking@freshstartweb.org.uk or call 0131 476 7741.

Please note, places are limited to 25 participants and all bags of ingredients must be collected from Fresh Start Kitchen on the Friday.

Cramond Kirk Fair set to be a Christmas Cracker!

With all the favourite stalls, and Santa back in his grotto, the stage is set for this year’s bumper Christmas Fair in Cramond Kirk Halls on Saturday 3 December (11.30am-2pm).

From Cake & Candy and Crafts to Collectors Corner, Toys and Toiletries to Tombola, there will be something for everyone.  Other stalls include Books, CDs/Vinyl, Stocking Fillers, Children’s Tombola, Quiz ….  and of course our renowned array of Christmas Hampers stuffed with festive goodies.

Lots to eat too!  Teas, coffees and delicious light refreshments will be available indoors, while in an outdoor tent the Scouts will provide an al-fresco option featuring burgers and hot dogs with lashings of ketchup.

Fair organiser Louise Campbell said:  “The Kirk will share this year’s proceeds with homeless support charity Fresh Start, and also Ukrainian Families in Edinburgh, because it is a country very close to our hearts at the moment.

“We look forward to seeing you and all your friends and family at the Fair.”

Tomorrow: Meet and Eat at Fresh Start

Fresh Start’s Meet & Eat sessions have been so successful that we are now adding an additional session on Wednesday evenings, starting tomorrow, Wednesday 26th October!

The Wednesday Meet & Eat will be a dinner time meal, between 5-6.30pm and will ensure local people and families have a hot meal in a cosy, friendly setting.

Remember, Meet & Eat is a FREE service and open to all.

Please share around your networks and tell your friends!