2015 Aberdeenshire Grants

The Jo Walters Trust is delighted to announce that the following projects have succeeded in their applications for funding from the Jo Walters Trust. Their projects were inspiring and exciting, and promised to provide a great return for the investment made by the Jo Walters Trust by helping many people in their local area, in line with our goal of promoting sporting, outward bound, educational and environmental projects:

Mormond Thistle Football club: we awarded Mormond Thistle £1,000 to go towards the development of a multi-purpose games area from some derelict tennis courts in Strichen. The facility will be appropriate for a range of sports and will by used by many local people including Mormond Thistle football groups, Toddlers potted sports, Youth Groups, Active schools groups, uniformed groups and targeted groups and adults.

Computers and Integration (registered charity SC010617): this charity helps people access technology. Our grant has enabled them to buy an iPad and pay for training for how to setup and use tablets and smart phones in a safe way. Once they have acquired these new skills, people will be able to access many services using smart technology which will be a great advantage for disabled people leading to an increase of independence and the ability to make their lives easier.

St Fergus Primary School: Every year, the P7s at St Fergus Primary school, near Peterhead, come up with a 'legacy' they would like to leave for the school, and spend final year in primary school fundraising and organising for this to become a reality. This year's P7s have a vision is to install climbing frame equipment into the school's gym hall which would be versatile and space saving yet also suitable for children of all ages within the school. The Jo Walters Trust has agreed to match the amount they manage to raise in funds, up to £1,000. We hope this will give their efforts a real boost, and lead to a really top class gym by the end of the year.

Boddam and District Community Association: we have awarded £500 to this organisation to help upgrade a key path on the Stirlinghill Access Network and Sandfordhill Pathways Link which commands spectacular views looking over to Peterhead, Peterhead Bay and surrounding district. This will allow far more people to enjoy the beautiful views and take the opportunity to get out and about in the area. They hope to use it to bring more tourism to the area too.

Girlguiding Banff & Buchan SC022670: in order to renovate Fyvie Guide House which is owned by Girlguiding Banff and Buchan. the Jo Walters Trust has awarded Girguiding Banff & Buchan a grant for £1,000. The building was originally Fyvie Cottage Hospital. When it was forced to close in 1963, it was acquired by Aberdeenshire Girl Guides to be used as a residential centre for Guide and Brownie holidays. Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, the kitchen and toilet block of the house are in great need of redevelopment to comply with regulations and to bring them up to standards. They have a fundraising target of £90,000 and intend to get started in Spring 2016.

We will update our website with more news of how the projects are progressing soon!

Grant Award to the Outward Bound Trust

James Hamilton Academy Outward Bound Trust Kayakers

In 2016, from the Proceeds of the Big Day Out at Caprington Castle, The Jo Walters Trust made a donation of £1,660 to the Outward Bound Trust, enabling 19 pupils from James Hamilton Academy in Kilmarnock, in Ayrshire, to participate in an Outward Bound course. The young people attended a three day Adventure & Challenge course at Loch Eil centre in Scotland, where they had the opportunity to increase their confidence, develop their teamwork skills and learn to persevere through challenges.

Some of the highlights from feedback the students gave after the course are below:

I LEARNT TO THINK POSITIVE AND ALWAYS FACE A CHALLENGE, Zoe, 12

[WHEN I HAD CLIMBED BEN NEVIS, I FELT] HAPPY, SO HAPPY [AND] PROUD. Stuart, 13

The Outward Bound Trust have provided a fantastic written report on the course which is available for dowload here:

Summary	Full Report

Mormond Community Hub Update

Another Jo Walters Trust grant project completed!

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/north-east/898854/strichen-pitches/

In the centre of the P & J photo is Eilidh, the designer of the new logo for Mormond Community Hub. She won a competition to design the logo - you can see some of the other designs on the board. In case you are wondering, the Mormond Community Hub is a combination sports centre and community hall in the village of Strichen, in Aberdeenshire. JWT was proud to help with the funding for the latest part of the project, an all-weather training area, which was officially opened on 23rd April.