Job Title - Volunteer Development Co-Ordinator 

Amount Requested = £12,000.00 

Summerhill Centre in North West Dumfries needs your vote to help us reduce poverty levels; reduce the cost of living expenses and increase equal opportunities in our communities. We can do this by maintaining and building upon our existing free community food sharing projects, our Health and Wellbeing activities for all ages which include: •    Helping hand to reduce cost of living through our new Community Food Pantry whereby people choose  own food and essential items in a dignified and affordable manner.  •    Provision of healthy and fresh food boxes delivered to our most vulnerable. •    Weekly home made soup for distribution through First Base Food Bank.  •    New skills to prepare healthy homemade meals to take home for all the family. •    Fun youth activities; weekly trips; fitness opportunities; daily support & supper.  •    Community Buddies - adult fitness, home baking kits and wellbeing activities  •    Community Training and First Steps in Digital Connections  •    Environmental skills at our Community Land Art, gardens & food growing allotment 

Summerhill Centre is Dumfries Hub for Fareshare Food Provision. We plan and organise  food from Glasgow Fareshare every Tuesday and Friday to support our many partners who then receive the  food and distribute into our communities.  Our activities are critical to continue tackling poverty with a dignified approach and developing positive routes out of despair.  These are only possible with our army of volunteers who collectively give over 260 hours per week facilitating our many groups and managing the centre.  We need funding to employ our Volunteer and Community Development Co-ordinator. Our work helps to develop each individual to grow and develop strengths and independence to work their way out of poverty.  We also help to develop effective community leaders, regardless of their experiences or circumstances. By the Community – For the Community

Video: https://youtu.be/PAWRC4pgw-I 

Job Title - Anti-Poverty Outreach Worker      

Amount Requested = £12,000.00 

At River of Life, we’ve loved helping people through our surplus food drop-in services over the last couple of years. We’ve always been passionate about meeting practical needs and access to food is the most basic need everyone has. We collect and distribute from Aldi, M&S, Tesco and Lidl stores on a daily basis. Good food that would otherwise be thrown away now supplies vital needs almost 365 days a year!

We’ve gained a reputation as welcoming, non-institutional and non-judgmental in our approach to anyone who comes to us for help and we’ve developed precious relationships with hundreds, or even thousands of people.

Through the last year of crisis, we’ve noticed some important opportunities to help people even more, by helping them find longer term solutions to the difficulties they face.

What we want to do, if successful, is employ an Anti-Poverty Outreach Worker to find loads of other sources of help – financial, skills, work and life skills – to help people build a better life for themselves and their families. Often folk just need to know where to turn and some encouragement that getting out of poverty permanently is possible. 

The outreach worker would come to our drop-in sessions to chat and be available to meet up for coffee with people who want to discuss their opportunities further. They’ll be a listening ear with knowledge to help access tangible services and assistance.   Please vote for our project and help lots of ordinary people get out of poverty for good!

Video: The Pantry at River of Life.mp4 - Google Drive

Job Title - Food and Budgeting Co-Ordinator 

Amount Requested = £10,663.00 

Currently, DGMA is accessible to any public member, women, men, families with children, homeless and low-income individuals and families, for people in work poverty, fuel poverty, refugees, asylum seekers, members of Minority Communities, pensioners, over 50s, young people, unpaid carers, and disabled people.  

DGMA with this project, Food and Budgeting Coordinator aims to ensure the people of Nithsdale, especially those in deprived, marginalized, hard to reach, vulnerable, disadvantaged, and seldom heard groups to have their voices heard, and work with them to improve their livelihood, maximize their household income, have improved equal access to healthy food, and access to information and services are maintained.

Video: https://youtu.be/HHanUsiSCAY 

Job Title - Finance and Admin officer and Volunteer Co-ordinator and Project Planner  

Amount Requested: £10,654.20

LIFTDG is a community driven company that currently works with other organisations to help families and individuals that are in need by providing food parcels, household goods and clothing. We have two shops based in lochside where we take donations and members of the public can also come in and purchase items for £1. Any funds raised get put back into the local community to be able to organize free events, trips and weekly workshops for all different age groups in the local area. With the current pandemic we have been unable to organize large group events due to government guidelines but we are currently doing online activites via Facebook where we have recruited local individuals and business to take part. Volunteers play a big part in our organization and they do the day to day running of the shop, help with organising events, and delivery of food parcels. We have a lot of experience in the past delivering different projects in the local area such as the Lochside Gala, Easter Funday and Christmas and Halloween parties.   We have two paid posts within the organisation and this is the Volunteer Coordinator (28 hours per week) and the Admin and Finance Officer (11.5 hours per week). The actual hours that are worked are higher but funding does not allow for the hours to be increased at this moment in time. We have seen a large increase of people in need due to people being made redundant, furloughed or unable to apply for jobs at this moment in time. Domestic abuse figures are also on the rise which has resulted in individuals/families leaving their family home with nothing and we are helping to provide them with items, clothing etc. to get them back on their feet again. With guidelines hopefully starting to ease soon we are starting to plan events again on the hope they go ahead and because of the publicity we have received we are also getting more enquiries from people offering to volunteer with us. Our workload is increasing and we would like salaries to reflect this.  

Job Title - Support Worker 

Amount Requested = £8,154.00 

Food Train runs services to support local older people to maintain their independence and to be able to stay at home for as long as possible.  Our main core service is a grocery delivery service, this enables older people to access fresh grocery shopping on a regular basis.  This reduces food poverty for older people, we are also a very well-known and trusted partner of the HSCP enabling us to get information out to the older generation across the region.  Food Train has operated in the Dumfries and Galloway for 26 years which confirms stability and experience of delivering successful support services to older people.  These services are needed even more now than ever due to the increased threat to older people from Covid-19, we have the experience and expertise to ensure that services are delivered to the most vulnerable people efficiently and safely.  This funding would allow us to employ an additional staff member ensuring that we can continue to meet the increased demand on our services in Dumfries and Galloway.  

Video: SES Digital Showcase Food Train 2020 - YouTube 

Job Title - Shop Manager Post 

Amount Requested = £15,000.00 

The Community Shop Dumfries & Galloway is a not for profit social enterprise.  Our slogan is " Supported by the community for the benefit of the community " true words spoken. It has been running for 5 years and has helped support many local organisations and hundreds of people in our town. In times of hardship the shop has helped people get through the toughest times , just that bit easier. We know it's appreciated! We have had many volunteers from all walks of life and for a variety of reasons. Working alongside people whom for whatever reason just need a lift , a bit of encouragement.  Having the chance to build up confidence as well as transferable skills and feel good about themselves in a friendly environment. These are key attributes that many people long for to get them to the next stage. Everyone is good at something, it's taking time to find it with people that matters.  The shop is simply like no other, a vital part of the community. A place that frequently guides and signposts people in many ways. A wealth of information for many a real team effort that creates a ripple effect of goodness throughout. Seeing our volunteers grow and progress is a true testament to the dedication  given by many. In addition to our loyal supporters who donate  unwanted goods. Helping us all to reduce waste and landfill and therfore also helping to save our planet. Such a lot of greatness from so many all of which says so much about our town and the people in it. None of which would be possible without the  guidance and planning provided by the dedication of the shop manager.  In such uncertain times the services at the shop are needed more now than ever before.  Like so many places without support and  Funding we will simply not be able to survive. 

YOUR VOTE IS APPRECIATED    THANK YOU.

Amount Requested = £15,000.00 

‘Grub Club has been a lifeline for my family’.

‘Without Grub Club I don’t know how we would have survived especially, during the first lockdown’. 

‘Karen and the Volunteers are kind; they really do care about us and Grub Club always provides lots of choice and good quality food. Grub Club made me feel better about myself for having to ask for help to feed my children’.  

These are real examples of comments received by LCA trustees from members of our community that have used Grub Club in the past or do so presently.  Grub Club was originally created by funding from Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Participatory Budget.  The concept was to help our community combat ‘Holiday Hunger’ by encouraging and enabling families to access free food, nutritious meals and a variety of activities. A project that is designed and delivered by the community for the community with a focus on welcoming all ages. 

But, without the driving force and commitment from our Project Coordinator/Cook, Grub Club would not be the success that it is. Yet, this is a double-edged sword as sadly the larger Grub Club becomes the greater the need for such a service. The Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns has identified more households in need than ever before. We believe Grub Club remains much needed and is vital to help our community recover and thrive. Please give Grub Club your vote and show your support for us to continue to swap, share, care and feed oor weans.