Broomhouse is Full of Initiative
The public vote on Broomhouse Decides applications, took place at the Street Party which was hugely well attended by local people. Edinburgh Napier University helped with the voting (and in advance the community discussions that led to setting the priorities).
The following grants were awarded to local community organisations ("Strivers Grant for Community Organisations", up to £2,500): -
Health in Mind: will run five mental health recovery focused events in Broomhouse, involving local people in planning the events, as well as creating opportunities for volunteer involvement, and will provide a crèche to allow parents to attend.
St David’s Church: will build a community choir, for all (not just a church choir) that will provide an environment of achievement. It will be held fortnightly with a musician and facilitator, singing songs chosen by those who attend.
Broomhouse Health Strategy Group: will create a mural in the community with local male volunteers, turning the area into a colourful and welcoming place to visit for local shops and services. It will also encourage men to access health and wellbeing activities.
Community One Stop Shop & Food bank: Holiday Entertainment for children & families with events at local primary schools. These include activities as well as free food for families. This grant will support their October break and enable them to feed up to 60 people a day.
City Star Majorettes, Broomhouse: they will do community performance, in the area for local people, and get with the costs of purchasing new baton dresses for each of the children, for the community event and their end of season competitions.
The following grants were awarded to local people turn an idea into an activity that benefits the community ("Little Thrivers Grant for Community Members", up to £250):
Dance classes: the young people have done lots of singing but have never really done any dancing. A new dance class will help them learn how to combine singing and dancing at the same! They would like to reach those that aren’t involved with any other groups.
Theatre trip: Young People will get the opportunity to go and see a professional theatre company perform a play, and will then attend a local workshop from the theatre company, for an even wider audience of local young people.
Arts & crafts: these will run a five week arts and crafts class for adults in St David’s Church and will cover different mediums such as painting. It will bring people together to learn new skills and get to know one another in the community while being productive.
Toddler Group, St David’s: new equipment will to keep the children fit and healthy, with new balls, skipping ropes and outdoor equipment to have fun with, and will help with development of fine motor skills. The group is open to the community and everyone locally.
Youth Group, St David’s: young people will learn new skills, specifically, First Aid and Barista Training. The Youth Hub will buy new kitchen equipment to benefit our meals together and go on a trip to bond better as a group.
Gordon MacDonald, MSP, put forward a Parliamentary Motion in the Scottish Parliament in part stating, "The Parliament congratulates the Broomhouse Centre, who have raised sufficient funds to carry out the Broomhouse Decides grant project."
And after the vote, Gordon commented, "It’s great to see so many people voting in ‘Broomhouse Decides’, where the public decide which projects get funded by taking part in the vote."
Dawn Smith, Public Engagement Officer, at Edinburgh Napier University said, ‘‘Edinburgh Napier University is delighted to have supported ‘Broomhouse Decides’ and to have been involved in the research which has taken place across Broomhouse over the past two years. The enthusiasm and breadth of ideas which have come from Broomhouse residents is a great reflection of the community spirit, and we’re delighted to have been involved and look forward to seeing these projects take place in the coming months."
Bridie Ashrowan, CEO at the Broomhouse Centre, said, "I am so moved by the ideas that have come forward, and we’re so happy to help them all happen. A huge thank you to everyone who got the word out, and encouraged people to apply. We will be making short films with everyone to tell the story of what they’ve done. There are many great grass roots initiatives in this community from local people. We’ll try to get more funds to do it again!"
