Following the outcome of a recent survey from members of Torry community we would like to run a project based on the requests of members of the community. They have expressed their wish to have a type of recreational club.

This project aims to engage people with weekly activities that will help their mental resilience, health and wellbeing, support them in building healthy relationship among members of the community, build community spirit, social interactions/connections. This club will also improve the self-awareness of beneficiaries and enhance their self-esteem. This club will offer activities like fitness classes, games sessions, outdoor walk sessions, knitting and dance sessions.

ALC recently held a workshop at St Machar Academy which listened to students’ thoughts on the issues and challenges facing their communities and to hear their suggestions for services ALC could provide which could help. Students highlighted many issues, However, there was two notable recurring themes, which was access to a safe warm environment and the of issues related to food poverty ortunately, ALC is in a great position to address these concerns. We propose to offer a breakfast club primarily for academy student though open to younger age groups if required. The service will be available five days a week during term time and open from 07:30-09:00. 

One in six children aged 5-16 have a probable mental health disorder and since Covid, mental health issues in young people have increased by 58%. In 2025, children face many challenges such as bullying and complicated home lives which can result in depression, low self-esteem and difficulty making friends. They can be angry with the world and subsequently can be withdrawn or disruptive at school and home, because they struggle to cope with their emotions.

Our Flourish Project helps to improve mental and emotional well-being, self-esteem and resilience by supporting children to see their own potential, giving them ‘permission’ to dream and helping them to develop future aspirations with achievable goals.

Our project is not a ‘Quick Fix’. It supports them to face and cope with their everyday life challenges and long-term objectives. Over 8 weeks (8 x 1 hour sessions) our volunteer trainers help young people to see themselves in a more positive way by looking at:- how personal life beliefs are formed; the power of thought and how it effects behaviour; effects of social media; positive self-esteem and healthy self-talk and celebrating personal growth and development.

Since starting 3 years ago, we have worked with 580 children with very positive, long-term results. With your help, we aim to work with 400 more in North Aberdeen in 2025, aged between 10 and 14. Our Flourish Project really makes positive life changes in young lives and we want to make that difference to every young life that needs it.

For several years, the community flat has supported local residents with emergency food provision. Due to the steep rise in food and energy costs, job losses as a result of the pandemic and the downturn in oil and gas services and the introduction of Universal Credit, more and more vulnerable residents are seeking support to feed themselves and their families. We provide food to everyone who needs it – babies, children, single people, pensioners, refugees, asylum seekers and those who have No Recourse to Public Funds. We provide a food parcel (approx. two days of emergency food) once a fortnight and this is topped up through weekly deliveries from Fareshare and donations from Cairncry Community Centre who have links with the Co-op.  Demand has increased exponentially over the past few years and despite reducing our service from once a week to once every two weeks, we still struggle to meet demand. The foodbank service plays a vital role in maintaining health and equalities within the community and is a lifeline for many. 

We have a programme of three levels. All the schools start with the first level where we cover the essential and basics of first aid. We start with how to keep themselves safe, why we do first aid, calling for help, talking about how we can be the ones to help friends and family. Not only with people that we know but this can also be used in the wider community. We also cover asthma, choking, DRAB and recovery position. We have discussions, the children do group work, fill in booklets they can keep and hands on practice of DRAB and recovery position.

This year Tillydrone Community Campus SCIO would like to provide FREE fun activities for young people 8-12 years,  over four weeks in the Summer. Each week there will be different activities running at The Campus.  

THe SCIO wants to engage more with the community and what better way to engage with young people than in the school holidays! There will be lots to choose from so they can attend for a half day or for a full week!  

If successful, in the lead up to the school holiday we will engage through social media, local Schools and Campus users to shape a fun filled programme for primary fours to Primary sevens.  

The format of “Fun in the Sun” will be two weeks of skills based classes taught by local tutors. Examples: Drama, Singing, Art, Yoga. 

The other two weeks will be run by our Project Coordinator and sessional workers providing workshops like “a play in a day”, Table top games, Picnic in the park, Scavenger hunt, Crafts etc. This is just some of the ideas we have been giving.  

We really want to give young people of Tillydrone the chance to have fun in The Campus and help show them it can be a welcoming space for all. The main result The SCIO would like to see is young people coming and using the building respectively, realising The Campus is a space for them, and they are an important part of the community. They are the future after all! 

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We want to provide the opportunity for high quality, accredited bike maintenance training through the delivery of the nationally recognised Velotech Bronze award.

Velotech are the UK industry leader in mechanical cycle maintenance training and we would like to be able to deliver the nationally recognised Bronze level award to young people living in Northfield. This training will present an opportunity to gain a vocational qualification and increase employability as well as empowering participants to not only fix and maintain their own bikes but to also offer that service to others as a qualified person.

This funding will allow for up to 20 people to take part in the 2 day course which can be delivered in the community by qualified Adventure Aberdeen staff.

This is an excellent opportunity for young people interested in developing their skills in basic mechanics or interested in career pathways in this area

Family Learning and Sport Aberdeen, using Cummings Park Centre plan to deliver wellbeing physical activities and arts/crafts wellbeing sessions and offer wellbeing sessions aimed directly at those who currently experience mental health symptoms, or are felt from time to time, or from those in the process of recovery.

For this, EFT Natural Healing Therapy sessions would be purchased from a local community business which would not only provide the skills necessary to reduce stress, low mood and anxiety but help assist develop a local small business

The families targeted and expected to attended have many wellbeing needs and the activities provided are designed to combat many of these by ensuring all abilities can participate, sessions/activities are good fun, everything is easy for beginners, there is a role for everyone, provides the ability to improve confidence and improves social skills for families, adults and children alike.

Empowher is a peer-to-peer mental health support group for women in Aberdeen. Setup in Nov. 2024 the group meets on a fortnightly basis for 1 hour & provides a safe space for women to have open & honest discussions around mental health, with a focus on suicide prevention. The idea came from the founders' lived experience, recognition in the success of groups such as Andy’s Man Club & Man chat, and identification of a lack of similar help for women.  The venue is a cosy room in Hilton Community Centre, which has been popular, and has been free while the group has been set up. The Centre is very near Woodside and at least two regular participants are from Woodside. The project aims to help women help each other with improvement of their mental wellbeing. About 8 people have come along to each session with varying degrees of mental health issues, some with Autism or ADHD & is inclusive to anyone struggling or feeling alone. The budget includes venue hire for the fortnightly meetings for a year, as well as separate professional art therapy for people who would like to try this. The group will also aim to find free, in-kind advice from specialist organizations, to learn more about keeping the group going safely.  

We plan to set up the centre ar least one morning a week to offer soup and a roll in a warm and friendly safe space with no cost to entry.  All our volunteers will have been trained in the rquirements of food hygiene (L2) legislation and will have PVG accreditation.  We will be building up a pool of volunteers and team leaders to ensure that we have a sustainable rota built in for ensuring local continuity once the project starts.  We will also be looking to collaborate with Lochside Academy and other community partners in the management and delivery of this project to assist young people gain experience in the running a model of a social enterprise community cafe with an offfer of friendship and hot soup and a roll, acommpanied by a welcome cuppie.  We will endeavour to source quality produce from CFINE, supermarkets and other suppliers at no cost wherever possible, and where needed we will seek external funding to support our operational costs.  We have also set aside a reserve within our business planning for operational costs to ensure we can achieve our charitable purposes and meet an un-met local need in Torry.