Vital funding to support five Kirkcaldy charities helping local people

Vital funding from the Scottish Government is set to benefit organisations and individuals in the Kirkcaldy area during the current pandemic.

A total of £241,500 has been awarded to Greener Kirkcaldy from the Supporting Communities Fund as part of the government’s emergency support funding to help communities respond to the crisis.

And the local charity will distribute more than half of the funding it has received - £148,000 - to other Kirkcaldy-based charities in need of urgent financial help to stay open and deliver vital support services to local families.

Those other organisations to receive a share of the funding are Kirkcaldy Foodbank, The Cottage Family Centre, Kirkcaldy YMCA and the Linton Lane Centre.

Greener Kirkcaldy will then use the remainder of the money to contribute to its own running costs and to support its emergency response projects, including community food support in Kirkcaldy and energy top ups and advice across Fife.

All of the groups involved are delighted to receive a share of the £40 million Supporting Communities Fund, which is being used to support the rapidly growing and inspiring community efforts at local level which will be vital to national resilience.

Suzy Goodsir, chief executive of Greener Kirkcaldy, said: “We are very thankful to the Scottish Government for this funding, which recognises that local groups and people know and understand the support needs of their communities best.

“The Scottish Government is empowering communities to take action and the funding will allow us, and other charities in Kirkcaldy, to deliver vital services that people in our community really need to get them through this crisis.

“We’ll be able to be flexible in our support, and assist the people who need us most.”

Money donated to the Cottage Centre will be used to help families in the Kirkcaldy area, who have at least one child under the age of five, and who are facing significant hardship or crisis.

Pauline Buchan, centre manager, explained the money is extremely welcome as the Cottage has seen an unprecedented level of demand for help in recent weeks due to the coronavirus lockdown.

From help buying food and essentials to supporting vulnerable families affected by the impact of lockdown staff at the centre along with volunteers including Fife Council social work and community payback staff, have been busier than ever.

Pauline said: “We would like to say an absolutely massive thanks to the Scottish Government Supporting Communities Fund and Greener Kirkcaldy, especially Suzy Goodsir, who helped make this happen.

“This money means we will be able to continue with the higher level of support we have been giving for the past five weeks.

“We currently have 141 families registered for support with our services in the Kirkcaldy area. But as you can imagine since the lockdown many more families have lost income, jobs and security and have been place in a vulnerable position.

“I’d also like to thank the community and everyone locally who has also donated money, time and essentials to our families.

“We literally wouldn’t have been able to keep delivering the extra support up until this point without that power of community so we are very, very grateful. It is only through their support that we can make a difference where it matters.”

Over the past five weeks the Cottage has provided 737 food hampers and 5250 packed lunches to children and families across Kirkcaldy.

Pauline added: “Many of these families were not registered with Cottage, but were signposted by agencies such as Social Work and NHS services for support. 

“We realised quickly that there had been very little provision for families with children under 5 years old.

“These children are not of school age and therefore their parents are not entitled to the additional payments for lunches either.

“Some of the families we support are working but just don’t have the additional funds to provide additional meals or snacks, never mind activities.

“With everyone in their homes parents are telling us the children are eating the food that is available much more quickly and there is an increase in their fuel usage.

“Families who were already living in poverty are even more vulnerable not only in terms of their emotional, but their physical health and well-being.

“This is a time when parents need to keep as well as possible, so it is vital that we continue to be able to provide this support.

“This funding will allow us to ensure that families are receiving fresh, wholesome food and are not reliant on food which has no nutritional value as well as providing support and activities for our wee ones.”

While the chairman of Kirkcaldy Foodbank, Joyce Leggate, said they are “indebted” to the Scottish Government for “identifying the need that voluntary organisations are experiencing during this time of such high demand on their services”.

She said: “This generous grant will enable us to maintain the supply of food to those in most need during the current crisis and beyond. 

“Kirkcaldy Foodbank relies entirely on the generosity of the local community and it is heartening to see that its value is recognised by both local and national government.”

The cash for Greener Kirkcaldy will help continue its work with its energy advice service Cosy Kingdom, which is supporting people to stay warm, manage their energy bills and stay connected.  Energy advisors are giving top ups to people who are struggling financially and are at risk of being disconnected.  They are also offering a telephone advice service.

Its Community Meals to Go project is supporting vulnerable people and organisations to access food by making and delivering freshly cooked meals.  So far, over 400 meals have been delivered to Kirkcaldy Foodbank and people lacking family support, the physical ability to cook food on a regular basis, on a low income or unable to leave their home.

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