Small grants can make a big difference

£1,000 might not buy you three Beyonce tickets nowadays, but one community group in Cowdenbeath is showing just how much of an impact small grants can have. 

Home-start Cowdenbeath provides support to young families who are experiencing difficulties living in Ballingry, Crosshill, Lochore, Glencraig, Lochgelly, Lumphinnans, Cowdenbeath, Crossgates and Hill of Beath. They provide a range of services including one-to-one support, family and parenting groups, resilience work, a summer holiday programme, and social events and activities. 

In December of 2020, not long before Scotland headed into its second lockdown, Home-Start Cowdenbeath received £900 from the Mossmorran Wind Farm Ltd Community Fund to run workshops that would support parents to shop more prudently, cook healthy meals from scratch on a budget and maximise their income. Workshops were delivered online, and provided weekly opportunities for families to interact during the pandemic. 

Caley, a family worker at Home-start Cowdenbeath said; 

“This cooking group has been a blessing to some of our families due to the cost of living crisis, and has enabled them to not only cook the weekly recipe for dinner, but also be able to cook different low cost healthy meals and find alternative ways to save money. Some of our families have found that using our recipes, using fresh ingredients and cooking the meals from scratch, has been a huge hit in their homes where fussy eaters who refused to eat processed foods are now enjoying the healthier options. Families are also enjoying cooking the recipes together with the children grabbing the recipe books every time they are going to cook meals together.”

In November of 2022, Home Start Cowdenbeath were awarded a second grant to support transport costs associated with the “Big Hoose” project. Big Hoose is a partnership between Amazon UK and a range of family projects across Fife, to distribute household goods to families that need them most. 

In the Cowdenbeath area, the project benefits up to 40 families on a weekly basis, providing a range of items such as cleaning and laundry products, nappies and baby products, clothing, bedding, kitchen essentials, soaps and shampoos. Just £1,000 from Mossmorran Wind Farm Ltd Community Fund helped ensure that these necessary items could be delivered to families, particularly those who cannot easily get to the Home Start premises, increasing both accessibility and dignity for recipients. 

This second award has only recently started, but we wish Home-Start Cowdenbeath the best of luck as they continue to deliver this project over the coming year.