25 Fifers who made a difference in 2020

This week we celebrate our own people of the year.

We’ve selected 25 individuals and organisations who made a positive contribution in Kirkcaldy district during the most challenging of years.

Many came to the fore in the pandemic, putting others first and ensuring that those who were isolated, vulnerable and worried were looked after - whether that was practical support or simply a listening ear.

Many made a huge difference to the lives of so many, and their kindness will never be forgotten.

1 Our frontline COVID heroes: They stood in the forefront of the pandemic, and went beyond the call of duty every single shift. From ICU nurses to porters, from delivery drivers to community leaders, they all played their part in supporting, and caring for, our loved ones in the darkest of times. Their professionalism and commitment was immense - so many families will be forever grateful to them.

2 Mandy Henderson, Linton Lane centre manager: One of Kirkcaldy’s lifeline services which saw its services all take an instant hit at the start of lockdown, but which stood firm to its pledge to support vulnerable people during pandemic.

3 Lynne Scott, Nourish: How a small group can make a big difference to the lives of local families. Lynne led the group, which supports families with additional needs, with emergency food deliveries while also smashing their own £15,000 fundraising target to secure new premises.

4 Cottage Centre: Led by Pauline Buchan, Kirkcaldy’s Cottage Family Centre's volunteers and supporters pulled out all the stops to help local families in need during lockdown. Staff realised quickly that families needed food, essentials, help with utility bills and household items urgently. It provided 2762 food packages, and supported families with utility bills, providing white goods like cookers and washing machines, clothing and activity packs for children.

5 Gavin Patrick: If there was a Kirkcaldy lockdown soundtrack, it would surely have been Gavin’s Sunday Sessions. What started out as an online group to give club and pub singers a chance to entertain grew into something quite special, and netted over 20,000 members. Every week, a host of performers sang their hearts out from their own homes and gardens, and kept the whole district richly entertained.

6 Laura Davidson, Hug A Mug: Despite the challenge of running a business during lockdown, Laura put people first and adapted to create a fabulous takeaway service, and continued to do what she could to help the community, resulting in a Local Hero award.

7 Faraz Iqbal, Linktown Local Premier: One of the most popular figures in the Links area, he supported the community day and night with food parcels and deliveries to vulnerable people, won High Street hero award.

8 Pete Melville, Pete’s Man Chat: Pete’s men's mental health group helped to tackle rising issues and give men a safe place to chat, and he also broiught his enthusiasm to support Nourish’s fundraising campaIgn.

9 Lizzy Halstead, community volunteer: Led Linktown Tenants and Residents’ Association’s support for people across the community, particularly those who were struggling.

10 Love Oor Lang Toun: The group grew in stature as it picked up where Kirkcaldy4All left off and created a new voice to champion Kirkcaldy’s town centre.

11 Tom Courts: The popular Fife butcher put Burntisland on the map in 2020 when he appeared on the TV show ‘Secret Scotland’ - and orders for his award-winning haggis went through the roof after it was aired.

12 Lorraine Mullen: The Fife Council community education worker was instrumental in setting up the Lochgelly Lunches project which provides meals for people suffering food poverty, and was awarded a British Empire Medal in October.

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13 Volunteers with Burntisland Emergency Action Team: The Toll Centre in Burntisland became the base of operations for a new drive to help those unable to get food or medicine during lockdown. It was a joint venture between the centre and Burntisland Community Council, providing crucial services to people who are in self isolation or have mobility issues.

14 Volunteers with Kinghorn Support Squad: Kinghorn Community Council activated the squad to help those in need of medicine or food supplies during lockdown.. It had four co-ordinators, with over 30 volunteers lending a hand.

15 Aberdour Community Home Delivery Service: Local food businesses offered a home delivery service to help people and households e self-isolating/distancing.

16 Covid-19 Action Group, Cardenden: Auchterderran Kinglassie Parish Church set up the group with a number of volunteers who arranged shopping for those who were self isolating as well as a friendly voice at the end of a phone.The first point of contact was the minister Donald Lawrie.

17 Growing Kirkcaldy: Huge efforts to keep the town looking good throughout this year - from the Town House to developing a stumpery in the Memorial Gardens

18 Collieson Briggs: The MD of Burntisland based Briggs Marine, received an MBE for services to vulnerable people during the Covid-19 response. His company made significant donations, and offered support, to frontline organisations including the Cottage Centre in Kirkcaldy, and Kirkcaldy Foodbank.

19 Mirka Jankowska: The Kirkcaldy wedding dress designer made thousands of scrubs for NHS workers. Her Commercial Street shop became a hub to support the national effort which involved over 300 machinists across Scotland.

20 Maggie’s Centre: When the pandemic forced it to close its doors, it handed the centre over to the NHS and it became a respite for staff working round the clock - and its place in people’s hearts was underlined when over £20,000 poured into an emergency funding appeal.

21 Louise Canny: It’s safe to say the Artisan Friday Market she launched transformed the High Street. It brought people into town, introduced new traders and helped to nurture businesses who went on to open their own premises.

22 Steve Mitchell: The man behind the Buffalo Farm not only hit his fundraising target of £800,000 to create a new buffalo mozzarella business, he took on Fife’s fly-tippers and launched a new Facebook page to tackle those whose selfishness scars our landscape.

23 Bill Convery: The taxi driver from Kirkcaldy survived coronavirus and then went on to become a volunteer driver to provide transport for the children of key workers.

24 Fife Ice Arena: After one of the longest closures in its history, the rink took the bold step to re-open amid the uncertainty of autumn. It did so in order to protect its own future - and to give local people somewhere to go as all other leisure activities remained curtailed or out of bounds.

25 Star Ross: The kind-hearted seven-year-old Dysart youngster helped to spread some festive cheer in her area by collecting much-needed donations for Kirkcaldy Foodbank. She aimed to collect enough so that no-one would go without on Christmas Day in 2020.

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