AB54 COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER for : Aberchirder, Blacklaw, Cabrach, Cairnie, Clatt, Drumblade, Forgue, Gartly, Glass, Glenbarry
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FREE ISSUE NO. TWENTY-FIVE, SPRING 2019 COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER AB54YOUR NEWS, YOUR VIEWS, YOUR COMMUNITY. AB54 COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER FOR : Aberchirder, Blacklaw, Cabrach, Cairnie, Clatt, Drumblade, Forgue, Gartly, Glass, Glenbarry, Glendronach, Huntly, Insch, Kennethmont, Kinnoir, Knock, Largue, Lumsden, Premnay, Rhynie, Rothiemay, Ruthven and Ythanwells. Your News, Your Views, Your Community Page 2 Coffee or lunch, we’re just your cup of tea. Whether you’re popping in for a coffee or Sunday lunch, a warm welcome is always on the menu at Dean’s Café Bistro. And with a delightful gift shop to browse around, baby changing facilities, WiFi and a lift, we cater for everyone. Open 7 days. Mon to Sat 9am–5pm. Sun 10am–4pm. Huntly, Aberdeenshire. T: 01466 794105 deans.co.uk Front cover reproduced by kind permission of Lumsden Community Association CONTENTS Lumsden Park - Public P3 Volunteering in TGS P3 Aberdeenshire North P4 Huntly Learning & P5 Green Spece Library Foodbank Leisure Campus Project Huntly Minibus P5 Station House Media P6 shmu Volunteer Story P7 Homestart Deveron P8 Unit (shmu) Volunteering Balhousie News P9 Clashindarroch P9 IN - Insch News P10 - Insch Library P12 - Community Fund P11 P13 Aberdeenshire Drug & P14 Introducing MRC P15 Sleep Scotland P16 Into the Mountain (SSW) P17 Alcohol Partnership - New Pathways Website SCARF P18 Vattenfall ‘Unlock Our P18 Listings P19 What’s On P20 Future Fund’ Issue No. Twenty-five, Spring 2019 Page 3 Lumsden Park, Public Green Space We may have had snow in January, but the chilly weather didn’t deter the Lumsden children from enjoying their new play equipment in the park! The project has been in the pipeline for a few years and is part of a larger Lumsden Community Association-led regeneration of Lumsden’s historic Market Stance. The new play equipment was installed at the end of last year and has been a hit with the village youngsters. Fiona Banks from the Play Park Committee said “This is a fabulous boost to our community as we work together to revitalise the market stance area for all our residents and visitors to enjoy.” Sam Trotman from the Scottish Sculpture Workshop added, “SSW is pleased to be part of and support the Lumsden community in driving the development of the Lumsden Market Stance area. The community have worked tirelessly to consult, fundraise and develop plans on how the square should be developed and we are excited to bring further artistic ideas and community-making opportunities to the project. Lumsden is a skilled, resourceful and artistic village; the re-imagined market stance will now act as a public testament to this for all to enjoy.” The improvement and revitalisation project at the heart of Lumsden Village is in partnership with Aberdeenshire Council and Scottish Sculpture Workshop (SSW), supported by the Marr Area Partnership. The main hoped-for outcomes of the larger project are: A community garden, using native and pollinator friendly species to improve biodiversity; An improved, fit-for- purpose sports pitch; Unique and inspiring play equipment; Promotion of local walking routes and provision of cycle racks to provide opportunities for active lifestyles; Prettification and improvement of the central village landscape and a Community Asset Transfer of the Council-owned public toilets, which have been closed for a number of years, to the LCA for re-opening. Lumsden Community Association would like to thank the Play Park Committee for all their hard work in securing core funding from SUEZ Communities Trust and bringing this project to completion. Volunteering in TGS Library My name is Jane Rennie and I am seventeen years old. I live in Insch and I am in 5th year at The Gordon Schools in Huntly. When I was in 3rd year I started volunteering in the library. I wanted to be involved in something that would give me an idea of what it would be like to be in the workplace. I like reading books and hoped that volunteering in the library would help me be more organised. I work with Mrs Fairweather from 1-2pm every lunchtime. I like stamping books and putting the books on the correct shelves. I help keep library records and like typing in book titles for books that have an accelerated reader quiz. I also like crushing boxes. Before Christmas of this year I managed to get my 100 hours of volunteering. I hope to get my 200 hours when I leave school. After school I would like to get a job involving music and go to college for 2 days every week. I really enjoyed my time helping in the library and would recommend it to other pupils. AB54 Produced by Networks of Wellbeing Ltd Your News, Your Views, Your Community Page 4 Aberdeenshire North Foodbank It’s difficult to imagine individuals and families in our area going without food in this day and age but unfortunately, this is the reality for an increasing number of people across Aberdeenshire. Financial difficulties can overtake anyone no matter what their circumstances are. Aberdeenshire North Foodbank (ABNF) seeks to help those in crisis by providing them with a parcel of non-perishable food, enough to last at least three days, and signposting them to additional advice and support. How did it start? Aberdeenshire North Foodbank began in 2012 under the auspices of Gariochchurch in central Aberdeenshire. A couple, who live locally, wanted to do something practical with their Christian faith. They approached the Trussell Trust for help and support in 2014 and opened the first food distribution centre in Inverurie that year, followed by centres in Huntly, Ellon and Peterhead. ABNF is a SCIO, an independent charity. In 2014, ABNF had been meeting local need in Huntly and surrounding area by providing emergency food boxes as well as the delivery of food parcels. A group, supported by ABNF, was formed by members of the public as well as Networks of Wellbeing, Aberdeenshire Council, Gordon Rural Action, Christ Church, Huntly Cairnie Glass Church, Cair Scotland and Destiny Café and Huntly Foodbank Centre opened on the 2nd of December 2014. How does it run? The charity employs two part-time members of staff and relies on a loyal cohort of over 65 volunteers to run its centres and warehouse. The charity doesn’t receive any statutory funding so every penny required to keep it operational they must raise themselves. In Huntly we have a team of 12 volunteers, managed by a coordinator who is also a volunteer. Individuals who have been given a foodbank voucher by a local professional can come and exchange it for a food parcel. This is made up according to the number of individuals in the household and Foodbank centre in Huntly with volunteer Kathleen will take into consideration the cooking facilities available. We also provide referral partner agencies with a small number of pre-packed emergency food boxes. These are for situations where it is not possible for the individual to personally come in to a foodbank – they may live too far away for example. We can’t accept self-referrals as we are an emergency food-provision service so feel it is important that people are referred from organisations who can help them address underlying problems. Current referring organisations in Huntly are: Gordon Rural Action Huntly Housing Support Huntly Social Work Children and Families Team Huntly Care Management Alcohol & Drugs Action Huntly Substance Misuse Services Huntly Health Centre The Huntly Foodbank Centre is open on a Tuesday 10am-12pm and Friday 1-3pm and is located at the back of Gordon Rural Action’s Bargain Box shop. Access is from Torry Street. In 2018 in the Huntly area, ABNF provided 194 food parcels from our centre, which provided the equivalent of 262 adults and 177 children with emergency food provision. ABNF also provided 64 Emergency Food Boxes in the Huntly area. ABNF has food donations points in Asda and Tesco in Huntly so you can leave anything purchased instore at these collection points, and there is also a collection point at Huntly, Cairnie, Glass Parish Church on a Wednesday morning. You can find more information on Facebook at Huntly Foodbank Centre or on our website aberdeenshirenorth.foodbank.org.uk or contact us on [email protected] Generous donation in 2018 from Huntly Scouts Issue No. Twenty-five, Spring 2019 Page 5 Huntly Learning & Leisure Campus project An exciting project will start this spring that will identify developments that the community can take forward to make the most of Huntly’s key learning and leisure facilities in the north of the town. The recent Room to Thrive strategy identified that those who manage and use the area have a range of ambitions to improve it or are facing a number of challenges. The project aims to collectively decide on ways that these can be addressed and create a shared plan of developments, and is being brought forward by Huntly & District Development Trust after receiving funding from the Scottish Government’s Making Places programme. It is seen as the start of an ambitious, multi-year initiative for a high-quality, cohesive development of the area to make a precious heritage environment work better for the 21st Century; building on the character of the land and buildings within it to make this special place even more special, and help it work better for Huntly residents and visitors alike. Keep an eye out for posters around town, updates in the Huntly Express and the Huntly Facebook page of how to get involved in the project. Huntly Community Minibus Huntly and District Development Trust (HDDT) have been managing the logistics and operations of the Huntly Community Minibus for just over a year now as part of the Room to Roam Green Travel Hub.