Friday, 24 September 2021

5 THINGS FOR A FRIDAY

REFLECTIONS

This week it occurred to me I’ve been working for and advising charities for over 32 years!  SFCT is my first ‘business’, although it behaves more like a community focussed charity than any charity I have worked for.  Good governance helps and that was reflected in a Leadership Training Meeting I attended with other community groups across the Highlands.  It was great to hear the positives that are coming out of the Covid pandemic and community groups working together when before there may have been different priorities.  It helped take a bigger perspective away from our own ‘community bubble’ and I look forward to sharing more war stories with my colleagues from other Trusts and learning how to deal with current and future challenges head on.

COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN

We expect to see the Community Action Plan from Nick Wright and his team next week and then the hard work starts about the best way to implement that.   Updates will be on the website where you can also find new stories, Project Updates and local business listings (and if you are reading this you are here anyway so look around!) Home | Stratherrick & Foyers Community Trust (stratherrickcommunity.org.uk)

DISAPPOINTMENT

We applied for three funds over the last six months, rather than rely on funds provided by the windfarms and hydro projects.  We were unsuccessful on all three.  Having spent the time on them it is slightly disappointing but not unexpected.  Two funds have gone specifically to groups who are struggling financially due to Covid or due to Covid have set up new organisations that need support in areas that need it the most.  The third was always a long shot and was missing the evidence of need tied to a big picture strategy that the Community Action Plan, due very soon, will provide.  We will be in a better place next year to achieve funding from that source.

WORK IT

On the plus side we did, alongside the Community Council, recently announce the successful tourism infrastructure fund award for the Foyers toilets.  The design of the toilets is being revisited as in some cases building materials, if you can get them, have gone up 25% since the original budget was proposed.  We also have the offer of funds in writing now and the Trust and Community Council must work closely to ensure conditions and good governance are met.  This can be a frustratingly slow process but an important one.  The Trust have a goal to see every penny from wind farm and hydro over the next five years to be match funded.  This won’t necessarily all come to the Trust to meet the CAP objectives.  There are other groups better placed in the area to do that but we will ensure we support them in their funding applications. We will also utilise our resources to meet the conditions of funding for the benefit of the community, as due diligence and cash flow is often the biggest challenge of all!

CHALLENGES

The work by volunteers on such projects like the toilets and all the projects across the area is amazing.  At a time when across the board in the third sector volunteer fatigue, a lack of volunteers and local group/event activity taking a back seat while people reconnect with their families and their jobs is all too commonplace.  Staff too in the sector are experiencing burn out but for me our new staff team have stepped up.  Again all are dealing with issues big and small in your buildings like Wildside, with your projects, how we communicate with you and I’m pleased to say all remained solution driven.  You talked about the need for staff to support volunteer activity as part of the Community Action Plan and, although a balance of both is important, we seem to be going in the right direction.  Thanks to all volunteers and staff for the contribution you are making.  It is very much appreciated.

Tony Foster

Trust Manager

2025

February (12 stories)

22 February 📣 ** TODAY ** 📣 - Forest School Meeting

Interested in the future of the Forest School building? From 2pm   Come and speak to us about your thoughts for the Forest School and wider opportunities fo...

21 February Congratulations to Whitebridge Hotel

Whitebridge Hotel are finalists in the National Hotels of the Year - Scotland awards!   The ceremony takes place in Glasgow on the 26th February at The Cr...

19 February 📣 Youth Club returns this Thursday 📣

Youth club is for anyone in P7 to S6 ✅ After a bit of a break, we are delighted to say that Youth Club is back!! ⭐ Important info ⭐ Date - Thursday 20th Februa...

19 February Communications 2025!

We are making a some improvements in the way we share important information with the community in 2025. The SFCT Board and communications team have made the dec...

13 February Mailing List Update

We hope you received your copy of the February newsletter and enjoyed reading through it. The team are busy updating our mailing list and we understand that there may ...

12 February Next Sat 22nd February

Next Sat 22nd February   Inverfarigaig Forest School, Farigaig Forestry Carpark IV2 6XR - From 2pm   Come and speak to us about your thoughts fo...

11 February ⚠️ Update regarding the upcoming works taking place at The Wildside Centre ⚠️

We can now confirm that the scheduled works on upgrading the toilet facilities in the Wildside Centre is starting this Thursday – 13th February.   The Wi...

11 February 🙌 JOIN OUR TEAM 🙌

We are currently recruiting a part-time (30 hours per week) Community Action Plan Project Officer to join our small team, based in the Wildside Centre in Whitebridge, on ...

8 February 📢 THE DAY IS FINALLY HERE 📢

Later today the Pathways Group are hosting their Community Engagement event at the Wildside Centre from 13.30pm.   For the past year, the Pathways Group has be...

6 February Errogie Church Statement

As you will be aware, an announcement was made by the Trust in mid December 2024 that we were unfortunately unable to host three events that were due to take place at Err...

6 February Wildside Wednesday Success!

🙌THANK YOU 🙌 We want to say a big thank you to those of you who popped along to our first Wildside Wednesday event yesterday! It was great to see you all 😃  ...

5 February !! WILDSIDE WEDNESDAY - TODAY !!

Join us TODAY at the Wildside Centre, between 9.30am – 12.30pm where the first Wildside Wednesday of 2025 will take place.  You can shop local, with local p...

January (22 stories)

31 January !! Next Saturday !!

On the 8th Feb The Pathways Group host their Community Engagement Day at the Wildside Centre from 13.30pm.   The group have setup a dedicated Facebook event pa...

30 January Refurbishments to toilets in The Wildside Centre

Following many months of work behind the scenes we are pleased to be able to share with you that work on upgrading the ladies toilets and creating a larger disabled toile...

30 January Fancy a sing song with Monadhliath?

The Monadhliath Choir invites all singers to a charity singing event on the 27.04.2025 at Stratherrick Public Hall. If you would be interested in join...

29 January February Newsletter

We are pleased to share that our Feb newsletter should be making its way through your door next week! 🙌   Please look out for the white envelope addressed to ...

25 January Do you use Instagram?

Did you know that Stratherrick & Foyers Community Trust are on Instagram? If you too have an account, why not give our page a follow. We’re keen to build up ...

24 January Foyers Community Fire Station

🚒 Foyers Community Fire Station 🚒   Foyers Community Fire station has a competent crew of 7 personnel, but we are in real need of new recruits, to keep the s...

23 January Wildside Wednesday is returning!

Join us on the 5th February at the Wildside Centre, between 9.30am – 12.30pm.   Here is your chance to shop local, with local produce from Lyne Mhor Crof...

22 January Loch Ness Luvvies - Traditional Burns Supper

This Friday, 24th Jan the Loch Ness Luvvies are hosting their very own Traditional Burns Supper at Stratherrick Hall, Gorthleck at 7.30pm. Tickets are £20 per he...

22 January Timings have been announced!

As you may have recently seen, The Pathways Group are running a Community Engagement event on the 8th February from 1pm at The Wildside Centre. In our previous post, t...

21 January ** Mobile Library Update **

Mark, our local librarian has kindly sent over a full list of dates when he will be stopping in the area. You can find the full list here: https://www.stratherrickcommuni...

20 January Invitation to tender - Health & Safety Consultant required

We are looking for an experienced Health & Safety professional to carry out a comprehensive survey on Errogie Church to ensure that the building is fully compliant fo...

19 January Send in your dates for the Community Calendar!

Did you know we have an online Community Calendar? If not, you can find it here: https://www.stratherrickcommunity.org.uk/calendar/   We would love to inclu...

18 January What's the next step?

For the past year, the Pathways Group has been working hard to promote the local path network, paths that lead through rich landscapes, historical sites, and biodiversity...

15 January Community Engagement Day - 8th Feb

Over the last month you may have noticed that the Pathways Group are holding a Community Engagement Day on the 8th February. You can find out all about the event by follo...

14 January Mobile Library Update

Below you will find a list of updated Dates/Times where you can visit the Mobile Library at The Wildside Centre.   We will add these dates to the Online Commu...

14 January Indoor Carpet Bowls makes it return as of today!

** TODAY ** Indoor Carpet Bowls makes it return as of today! The group return to their weekly session after the Xmas break. Please note: The group will now ...

10 January Community Engagement Event - 8th Feb

The Pathways Group invites you to a community event that explores the potential development of a pathways based app. This is your opportunity to help shape an app which w...

9 January Deadline for Jan/Feb Newsletter Content!

The deadline to send in any content for the Jan/Feb Newsletter is Friday the 17th of January 2025. Please email marketingofficer@sfctrust.org.uk with your articles inclu...

9 January Send us in your photos from the Winter Festival

A HUGE thank you to those of you who have already uploaded photos to our shared community photo gallery during the festival.   If you have any wintery snaps th...

8 January Reverse Advent Calendar Success!

Santa's little helpers would like to thank everyone who contributed in any way to the overwhelming success of this project. The generosity shown by our community was ...

8 January ** MOBILE LIBRARY VISIT TODAY CANCELLED **

Sadly, due to the current road conditions, Mark who drives the local ‘Mobile Library’ will NOT be stopping at Wildside today. All books will be renewed, and h...

7 January Welcome Back

Hello, we hope you had a relaxing time during the festivities. As it’s now time to get back to work, we thought it would be a good idea to update our online communi...