MSP for Stirling Evelyn Tweed is raising awareness of a local community project which tackles isolation, after a visit to meet its volunteers last month.
The charity, called Inspiring Communities, is based in Raploch, Cowie, Fallin and Plean and has been running since 2013. It runs a variety of activities such as employability workshops, digital training groups and creative writing classes as well as early years activities such as arts and crafts sessions.
The project currently has 34 volunteers and won the Volunteer Friendly award in 2022. Now, they are doing a recruitment drive for more volunteers for Fallin, Plean and Cowie to support their delivery in these areas.
Susan Currie, Project Coordinator of Inspiring Communities, said:
“We started Inspiring Communities to help people in Stirling improve their lives. With parts of this area in Scotland being very rural, people often live quite isolated lives and we wanted to create a space where people can access training and skills, whilst also connecting with others. Lockdown created more isolation than ever in our communities, and some people are still very much impacted by that. We exist to help people make a difference in their own lives by creating opportunities to interact with others, learn skills and ultimately live life as fully as possible.”
“We also offer family learning opportunities and early years activities as well as a lot of school based groups that give additional key support to children and families in areas that they need. By giving support to parents and caregivers to make changes and be more active, we are able to positively affect the lives of the children which acts as an early intervention to their pathway.
“It’s been fantastic to see the project grow and see how its helping people, both our volunteers and service users get a huge amount out of it.”
Donnamarie Totten, who volunteers at Inspiring Communities, said:
“Volunteering with Inspiring Communities really helps my mental health. I enjoy helping people and being part of a team, the staff are amazing. Everyone makes my daughter Holly feel welcome, she is disabled with complex and special needs.”
Catherine Kennedy, who visits the project, said: “The hub has been a godsend to me, so I am happy to have somewhere to go and able to get help with my universal credit and looking for jobs. I struggle with the computer and know that I can get help here.”
Evelyn Tweed, MSP for Stirling, said: “It was fantastic to visit the Inspiring Communities Hub and meet all the wonderful people involved with this project. It was clear just by being in the room and talking to people just how positive a place this is. I would encourage anyone interested to have a look at their website or drop in to get involved.”
Find out more at https://inspiringcommunities.org.uk/services/
