Mearns Kirk

Hello from all at Mearns Kirk Helping
Hands 😊

As we move towards the end of 2023, we thought it might be interesting to share  stories about new activities we have developed this year, responding to what  people in our community tell us they need.

We have been delighted with the success of our Monday Meets Ups. This dementia friendly café which takes place every Monday afternoon has been  accessed by over 50 people since we started last December.

We have a wonderful team of volunteers who help every week, including drivers,  bakers, and a dishwasher expert! A huge thanks to all involved for making this  new activity so enjoyable and welcoming.

This was made possible by a grant from the Encouraging and Supporting Grass  Roots Activity Fund, administered by Age Scotland.

Another new activity for 2023 is our weekly table tennis sessions.

Suggested by a volunteer who saw a need in our community for a social and welcoming physical activity which would be accessible to lots of people, we  bought a table in February 2023 with funding received from the Warm and  Welcome Spaces Fund.

The group has really grown in numbers over the year, so much so that we had to  get more tables! 

Our Strength and Balance classes have also been a big hit. Run in partnership with East Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership, these classes help to build and maintain core strength. They can help to prevent falls and assist in  building confidence in movement.

We are really pleased that we now have 3 volunteers who are trained to be able to support this activity, which means that people who have completed the course can attend drop-in sessions to keep practicing what they have learned.

We were very happy to receive notification that the PF Charitable Trust has  awarded us funds to continue this valuable resource for another year.

The trustees of Mearns Kirk Helping Hands have also established a fundraising  committee. Since its formation late last year, we have run four large scale events, raising almost £10,000 in total.

This is important work as traditional funding streams are much more competitive  in the post covid/ cost of living crisis environment charities are currently  operating in. 

We would like to thank everybody who has supported these events by attending,  donating prizes, baking, and giving their time to volunteer to make sure things  run smoothly on the day. Keep an eye out for future events and please support us if you can.

Mearns Kirk Helping Hands now has over 110 volunteers in a wide range of roles.  We want to extend a huge thank you to each and every one of you. Without our volunteers we would not be able to provide the wide range of support to reduce loneliness and isolation and improve the wellbeing of our  community.

For a full list of all our groups and activities, you can see our latest “What’s On”  page on our website. Please get in touch if you would like any more  information about ways we can help, or ways you could help us.

MKHH Team