We plan to revitalise Prestwick Community Hall to create a more welcoming, accessible, and versatile space for local residents of all ages. The funding will be used to purchase essential decorating materials (such as matt and gloss paint, brushes, sealant, and fillers), timber for minor repairs, and laminate flooring to improve our upstairs meeting room.

A key part of the project is the installation of heavy, full-length blackout curtains around the main hall. These will dramatically improve the sound quality during live music events and performances by reducing echo and enhancing acoustics. The curtains will also enable us to host daytime shows, film screenings, and community events that require light control.

These upgrades will allow us to expand our programme of activities and attract a broader range of users — from Pensioners, youth groups and adult learners to music performers, social clubs, and family-friendly events. This funding will help us transform the hall into a vibrant, inclusive hub at the heart of Prestwick's community life.

We intend to commission a local tradesperson to construct a built-in storage cupboard in the upper room of McCandlish Hall. Funding from this grant will cover the cost of both materials and labour. Like many village halls, McCandlish Hall has faced ongoing challenges with storage, leading to equipment being left out between sessions. This new cupboard will provide a secure space for items belonging to regular community groups such as the craft group, Lego Club, and Badminton Club. It will help keep the area tidy, safe, and more welcoming for all hall users.

By improving organisation and freeing up space, the cupboard will make the hall more attractive for existing and future community groups.

Ultimately, this investment will have a lasting impact—enabling McCandlish Hall to remain a vibrant, multi-use venue that supports local participation and wellbeing across the community.

We rely soleley on donations and fundraising and over the past few years we have struggled with providing fred bags for older children.  We often put games into these bags as this is something which older children enjoy but we find that we dont have as many donations of these as we would like.  The funding would be to purchase as many boardgames as possible and our team of volunteers would then be able to use these for the bags for older children.

Ayr Sea Cadets is seeking to acquire new paddle sports equipment to significantly increase our capacity to take more cadets afloat regularly and sustainably for many years to come. The proposed equipment includes a new trailer, a fleet of kayaks, essential safety gear, and a large “mammoth” stand-up paddleboard. This specialist paddleboard is ideal for confidence-building and teamwork exercises, helping our young people develop vital life skills such as communication, leadership, and resilience through fun, engaging water-based activities.

As part of our new initiative to deliver paddle sports within Ayr Harbour, we are also working in partnership with Ayr Yacht and Cruising Club to install a new, purpose-built ladder on the pontoons. This will ensure the safe and easy recovery of anyone entering the water during our sessions, enhancing the safety and accessibility of our boating activities. This collaboration not only improves safety standards but also strengthens local ties and promotes wider community involvement in youth development through maritime activities.

The residents of Morrison Gardens Sheltered Housing complex would like to improve the communal patio area by purchasing patio furniture and planters to create a more welcoming and accessible outdoor environment. Residents will be able to come together to relax, connect with others, and enjoy time outdoors. The planters will make the space more attractive and will offer opportunities for light gardening activities, which will support physical activity. Overall, this meaningful improvement will enhance the quality of life for the residents. 

To purchase the former Troon Old Parish Church and Halls from the Church of Scotland on behalf of the community.

To turn the former buildings into a safe vibrant space for all the community of KA10 and visitors.

Provide a venue for civil weddings, music, drama, theatre, and pop-up cinema within the former sanctuary.  Use the halls for access by all types of organisations and groups to provide health and well-being activities such as yoga, marital arts, dancing, well-being events, and other activities such as arts and crafts.

Create a community garden to provide vegetables and herbs for the community and hopefully encourage intergenerational working together.

The sensory resources will be used to:

• Create a safe space which pupils can access at break and lunch to regulate

• Run a regular ‘Sensory Circuits’ group before and during the school day to help improve pupils’ mental health and wellbeing, and engage them in positive physical activity experiences.

At Ayr Academy we strive to support our young people and evidence has shown that the implementation of Sensory Circuits has a significant positive impact on learning and achievement.

The money would be used to purchase a laptop for the Hub, enabling us to modernise our operating system onto a digital platform. The Hub has grown hugely in the 4 years we have been in operation and, although very basic systems allowed the project to get off the ground, it is no longer sustainable or finacially effective to be reliant on mobile phones, library computers and photocopiers. Having the ability to administrate the Hub digitally would allow us to communicate with NHS and other referrers securely and consistently, our accounting could be completed in-house to a higher level reducing costs to the CIC on professional fees, and a digital platform would enable us to communicate with service users in a whole new way, which would impact hugely on our interactions, particularly with young people and those in remote areas with transport limitations. We would be able to provide ongoing support and tailored wellbeing plans digitally, work remotely to ensure the service reaches people at times of crisis without delay, improve accuracy and access to information, and generate in-depth reports for funders.  

Reducing the time spent on admin would free up resources for frontline work and would allow us to provide much more resiliance and adaptability in our future work, which is an essential element in the sustainability of such a fast growing grassroots organisation.