Fife Free Press 150th: Newspaper helps groups whenever it can

Pauline Buchan, manager, Cottage Centre, Kirkcaldy: I don’t think there’s a household in Kirkcaldy that hasn’t read the Press over the years. It’s the community's newspaper, it’s where you find out what’s been going in our town and changes and new events that are happening in the future.

But the Fife Free Press is so much more than a newspaper, the people behind the scenes are who make it what it is.

They have a real genuine love from our town and the people in it and whenever someone needs support, they are there, finding ways to lend a hand in any way they can.

The Cottage would never have been able to support our most vulnerable children and families without the Press’ support.

No matter what the cause, whether that’s been celebrating our successes, joining us at family fun events or supporting us to fundraise for our Christmas appeals, you have been there, with us, sharing the experiences of our families when they have needed all of us the most.

Your support has meant we have been able to reach out to families and share their worst and best moments and you helped us to achieve our goal of bringing our communities together and supporting each other and shining a light in the darkest days.

Adam Kent, fundraising manager, Maggie’s Fife: It’s fair to say that Maggie’s Fifes owes a huge debt of gratitude to the FFP.

Right from the outset, they championed Maggie’s by being our media partner, and were committed to building a centre in Kirkcaldy, supporting our capital campaign.

The Press helped put Maggie’s on the map in Fife.

It has helped us celebrate our successes, and supported local events fundraising on our behalf and got behind the celebrations of our 10 year anniversary.

The support it offered then continued, as it rallied again to help us through the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.

The FFP has been by our side throughout our journey, and no matter what, we know that with their backing, Maggie’s Fife will have the ability and confidence to continue to deliver our professional programme of cancer support, free of charge to the people of Fife.

It’s not just through fundraising that the FFP’s support has been invaluable. The awareness that has been raised not only of the centre, but the conversations around the often distressing topic of cancer, has brought Maggie’s into the minds of so many right across Fife. There’s no doubt that this awareness has helped guide tens of thousands of people with cancer, as well as their families, into our centre since we opened back in 2006. Maggie’s Fife continue to be here as a resource for the community and we look forward to working with the wonderful team at the FFP for years to come.

Liz Easton, general secretary, Kirkcaldy YMCA: We have benefitted from long-term support from the Fife Free Press – it goes back some 130 years to 1888, similar to issues today, it was reported in the Fife Free Press of “‘increasing unemployment’, ‘growing problems with alcohol’ and ‘youth disruption and depravity’ in the Town.

This inspired members of Kirkcaldy YMCA decided to take forward a range of actions to support the growth and development of young men, these included the acquisition of suitable meeting rooms and educational activities.

The Fife Free press continues to support us, with publicising good news stories and raising awareness to our programmes and activities, there is a keen interest shown in our work, as part of community interest and a genuine knowledge of the provision of our responsive, inclusive and supportive services delivered in the Kirkcaldy area.

https://www.fifetoday.co.uk/business/fife-free-press-150th-newspaper-helps-groups-whenever-it-can-3123225

Fife Free Press at 150: Kirkcaldy's penny paper which became an...

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Fife Free Press foundations:: Responsible leadership and staff loyalty

Mandy Henderson, Linton Lane Centre manager: When I was 14 I did a paper round and Friday was my worst day as it took me two extra trips due to the FFP being so difficult to put through letterboxes and the extra weight! I used to love putting the full-size paper out on the floor and read, although the print made your hands black.

I still buy the FFP every Thursday night, over the years the pictures have held special memories my Dad was in at 16 then in the Raith Ballroom pictures as he played the trombone, I had never seen these pictures."

The FFP have always very supportive in the events at Linton lane Centre in my almost 25 years we made front page when the roof blew off in the storms twice! Tanya Scoon was always in contact keeping the centre's profile in the community and now as media moves on Darren keeps LLC in the focus.

Rosemary Potter, chairman of the Old Kirk Trust: We send congratulations to our friends, the Fife Free Press, for having reached the good old age of 150 years!

Kirkcaldy has been fortunate to have a thriving paper focussed on the town's own interests and in the centre of things here in town.

Of course there is rarely one clear best way forward and the Fife Free Press has not been shy of reporting the disagreements of town life over these past 150 years as well as the successes and highlights! It's all part of the history and identity of the town.

The Old Kirk was a close neighbour of the Fife Free Press across the street for many years, so close indeed that the church allowed the Press to buy the attic space of the old Hunter Hall building in Kirk Wynd. They raised the roof to create their compositors' workplace which later became the home of the journalists until a few years ago.

There is no doubt the Old Kirk misses the bustling presence of the newsroom, keeping a watchful eye on the Kirk building across the road, while the ancient Kirk belltower looms higher still.

The Old Kirk was just starting out on its 775th Anniversary year in Spring 2019 and lockdown cut out our finale celebrations. Older as the Kirk is, we are glad to share the last 150 years of common history in Kirkcaldy with the Fife Free Press - and together with Kirkcaldy Civic Society to care for archives of the Press since its beginnings, a fascinating treasure trove of the town's past, well-consulted for our exhibitions eg on the suffragettes. What the future holds is unknown to us all but we hope the Fife Free Press will adapt and survive in Kirkcaldy for some more years yet!

Ian Archibald, convener, Burntisland Heritage Trust: Burntisland Heritage Trust send its congratulations to the Fife Free Press on reaching its 150th birthday.

We are very grateful to the newspaper for their ongoing support since 1994. Our annual summer exhibitions, projects and publications

have always received attention by the newspaper and have been promoted and documented with well written quality articles and supporting photography.

One of the most popular ‘hands on’ items in the Heritage Trust collection are scrapbooks of newspaper cuttings from the Fife Free Press which stretch back decades.

The feedback from local folk is always highly appreciative when viewing these and emphasises the value of ongoing ‘hard copy’ in this digital age.

Many happy returns to the Fife Free Press and here’s to your ongoing success for many years to come.

Elaine Bowie, past president, The Rotary Club of Burntisland & Kinghorn: What an amazing achievement! We offer our congratulations and look forward to many more editions in the future.

We have been fortunate over the years to promote the Club and its activities through press coverage from the Fife Free Press, which has helped to make the public aware of what we have to offer.

This year the Club has had to think outside the box on ways to help our community without putting themselves or others at risk.

Our profile in the local community has been raised by the Press promoting activities such as our Yard sale, supporting KSS, BEAT Covid community resilience group, Purple 4 Polio and our very successful “Auld Lang Zoom” Lockdown has not been easy for anyone and it has taken its toll on many in the community and this has made the Club even more determined to help where possible. One of our new projects this year has been to team up with the Rotary Club of Forth Bridges to offer a New4U Children’s Clothing Bank extending from Dalgety Bay to, Burntisland, Kinghorn and Kirkcaldy area, have a look at our website and Facebook page for more information on this.

This year has shown us that we can as a Club still function and meet our commitments to help in the local community by modernising our approach, and position ourselves as a flexible and versatile Club of the future.

Christine Miles, chairman, The Ecology Centre, Kinghorn: What a wonderful achievement and something that should be celebrated!

"Fife Free Press is not just a weekly newspaper, it's like what we aim to do at the Centre in that it's inclusive, brings everyone together and keeps people connected to their community. And we need this more than ever just now. Fife Free Press have been a great support to The Ecology Centre over the years and have helped to share our news, events and all the work we do through our outdoor learning and volunteering programmes. For smaller charities this can often be a lifeline and we are ever grateful for their support."