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 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 project aims to organise gaming nights that will bring gamers together from different backgrounds to enjoy various video games in a friendly environment. There will be a mix of competitive tournaments, casual play and opportunities for participants to connect and share their gaming experiences. Friendly competitions with prizes for winners to encourage participants to compete and showcase their skills

Outcomes/Impact – Strengthened relationships, positive lasting connections, new friendships and enriching community. Creating opportunities for those who identify as socially isolated or vulnerable to take part in activities. Increase volunteering opportunities in the area and the communication of them and to provide more activities/spaces for children and young people to participate in/be together

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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The Peep service would like funding to deliver the Peep TALK programme in Kincorth. This is a free group for families with young children (aged 0-5 years) and differs from our traditional Peep groups with the focus being on supporting families to support their young children’s speech, language, and communication. Since Covid, there has been an increase of referrals to NHS Speech and Language services and the waiting lists to receive support are extremely long. The Peep TALK programme, co- written by a speech and language therapist, would alleviate some of the need for the NHS speech and language services and/or provide families support while they are on the waiting list. The Peep TALK sessions will include singing, sharing stories, play activities, and opportunities for families to socialise all while supporting their children’s development of speech and language.

We are applying for funding to expand our free soup and sandwich club from once per month to two times per month. The overall aim of the soup and sandwich club is to reduce social isolation, improve mental health, and to reduce food poverty which are key issues in our locality. The project will run on a Thursday between 11:00 – 13:00 whereby local people can come along to their community centre and enjoy a light lunch of free soup and sandwiches. This project will reduce the barriers tolocal people having access to a free nutritious meal whilst developing stronger ties to their local area. This project will also help towards the important goal of reducing the impact of the cost-of-living crisis by ensuring people do not go hungry.

We have been based in the Kincorth Community for over 30 years as an integral part of the community, previously we met in the church prior to its closure.  We then moved to KCC, initially we were not charged for meeting here as we were for the youth of the community.  However we have now been notified that we will be charged £30 a week due to their financial issues.  Due to the short notice of this change we have had to put up our fees from next term slightly.  As the group provides a safe girls only space for the members to be themselves, learn and develop.  Powered by volunteers the organisation aims to provide the girls, opportunities to laugh, learn and have fun within a creative space creating a wonderful world of adventure working together as individual as well as within groups.  As we meet in an area of deprivation we do not want to increase fees too much as this may cause girls to be unable to come due to parents not being able to afford as we would no longer be a low cost activity in relation to their income.  This would mean girls missing out on magic moments with their peers and creating a social gap.  We would also appreciate funding to buy some uniform to lend out so that girls whose parents struggle to afford the uniform, could borrow and have the same as the other girls in the group.

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. 

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

One in five people live below the poverty line and with the rising cost of living crisis, many more people are finding themselves struggling to pay bills including putting food on the table. The Aberdeen North Foodbank is one of 428 Trussell foodbanks across the UK, providing 3 day, nutritionally balanced food parcels for those in need as well as providing a friendly face, a listening ear and practical support. In 2024, our foodbank was extremely busy, provided more than 50,000 meals to 11,000 people in crisis and unfortunately, we expect these numbers to be similar in 2025. Our costs to run the foodbank are also rising, and whilst we have support from The Trussell Trust and local supermarkets, we still have to find around £30,000 per year to pay for additional food needs, warehouse costs, staffing and for running a van to transport supplies to both our foodbanks. Most of this comes from grants, appeals and donations of both food and money and we are incredibly lucky to have a group of very dedicated volunteers, who help us to run our food warehouse and the two foodbanks in central Aberdeen. No-one should be hungry and without food. Support from Central U Decide, will ensure that we can support families and individuals most in need in 2025.