FIVE THINGS FOR A FRIDAY | 29 July 2022 | Stratherrick & Foyers Community Trust

FIVE THINGS FOR A FRIDAY

Friday, 29 July 2022

BACK IN THE SADDLE

I am back for a couple of weeks before an often delayed because of COVID city break but what a week it was! I am pleased to hear we had a successful Highland Gathering at the Corriegarth Estate with estimated numbers of 500+ people attending. Congratulations to all the volunteers, community members, groups, businesses, Board and Staff Members who engaged and turned around a free event, which would normally take a year’s planning, in five months! Planning starts for next years event in a couple of weeks – but do you want it? We are asking for your feedback now at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/highlandgathering

COST OF LIVING

Considering escalating costs for everyone we have been working with our funders SSE on how we can help. They have now provided guidance which is a slight change from their current policy about individual benefit which the Board welcomes and will talk about at their meeting on Wednesday. This will provide some help to those in need during the winter months this and next year. More details when we have it.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

We have many community members working on most of the Community Action Plan Groups now. Some have met and getting on with things, some still to meet, some champing at the bit as we try and navigate away though planning, legal stuff, potential funding opportunities and general curve balls that get thrown in the way! The people I meet and the time they are willing to put in to take forward their ideas or ideas that have come through the CAP process astonishes me every time. We try our best to support them along the way, we make mistakes, we work together, we navigate solutions and we get things done. As a volunteer myself on other projects I know it is difficult to juggle life, work, play, your own interests and giving a bit of time to your community but it is quite fulfilling and I have a lot of respect for people who put in the work that needs to be done. Got an idea? Perhaps we can help you and your community group make it happen. There are a series of grants you can use. You may just have to do a little work getting your group together and if you want more funds constitute your group. Steven Watson, our Community Liaison Officer, can help. Details here Small Group Grants | Stratherrick & Foyers Community Trust (stratherrickcommunity.org.uk)

NEXT STAGE OF CAP

This week we met with Nick Wright to talk about the next stage of the Community Action Plan. This has come from the Action Groups and is about Place Planning. We take the elements as defined by you in the CAP and map it onto plans for each individual area, taking on board your ideas, current projects, current work by volunteers, statutory Local Authority initiatives and work towards visualising it all as a whole for Stratherrick and Foyers. This work is likely to be completed by the end of December and more details will be made available soon.

COMMUNICATIONS ROLE

Communication is very important to you (and us) as a Trust. So we have created a Communications and Events Role to help support this activity. Better still our Fundraisers went external to help fund the role for one year and are hoping to make itself funding over the next twelve months. This role is supported by SSE through their Stronelairg Fund. This was one of two applications we helped made that were both successful (the other being for the Luvvies Jubilee event). The role will be online soon with a closing date of 15^th August.

Tony Foster

Trust Manager

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Stratherrick & Foyers Community Trust,
The Wildside Centre, Whitebridge,
Inverness IV2 6UN
admin@sfctrust.org.uk
07300 562443

Mission statement: To act to enhance the quality of lives of people by engaging with the issues that matter to the community and by supporting people, at a sustainable level, to help people make things happen.

Thanks: Many thanks to our funders for making this site possible - SSE Renewables, Greencoat UK Wind, Green Highland Allt Luaidhe (228) Limited, Easter Aberchalder Partnership. Also the Trust extends its heartfelt thanks to all the community volunteers who have contributed ideas and content to the site.

Fair Work First Statement - Stratherrick and Foyers Community Trust (SFCT) is committed to advancing the Scottish Government Fair Work First Policy and the criteria as set out within the Fair Work First guidance document. We confirm that we pay our staff the Real Living Wage. We make every effort to ensure that our suppliers/contractors are offered the same Real Living Wage rate when procuring goods or services. We also confirm that we offer our staff and/or volunteers an Effective Workers Voice channel within the workplace. Our full policy can be found in ‘Our Documents’, then click on ‘Good Governance’.