Perthshire Rugby: Breaking Barriers, Building Futures

At Perthshire Rugby, we believe every child should have the chance to enjoy the benefits of sport—no matter their background. That’s why we’re launching a FREE summer rugby and multi-sports camp, ensuring financial barriers don’t hold kids back!

With the rising cost of living, many families struggle to afford extracurricular activities. But sport is more than just a game—it builds confidence, resilience, leadership, and friendships. 

Our Vision: A Week of Sport & Community

Monday 11th August | 9 AM – 3 PM – Multi-sports camp

Saturday 16th August – Community Funday & BBQ

Completely FREE – No hidden costs! Healthy lunches, snacks & drinks provided Expert coaching from qualified rugby & sports coaches Inclusive & fun for all skill levels

This isn’t just about rugby—it’s about building a stronger, healthier, and more connected community.

We need your vote to secure funding and make this happen!

Vote for Perthshire Rugby today! Help us inspire the next generation and create lasting change.

2025 will be our fourth year running our Back to School Pack. In 2021 we provided 152 packs, in 2022 - 340, in 2023 - 400, and in 2024 we provided 512 Back to School Packs and 91 Back to Nursery Packs (our first year running this service). Our Packs are available to anyone who lives in these wards.

What is in a Back to School Pack? 

Our packs include 3 shirts, 2 bottoms, 2 jumpers/cardis, 2 PE t shirts, 2 PE bottoms, a PE jumper and a school bag. We also aim to include school shoes and/or trainers plus stationary and other back to school essentials like pack lunch boxes or pencil cases. Everything a child needs for taking part in their school journey. 

What is in a Back to Nursery Pack?

Our Back to Nursery packs include 5 days of mix and match outfits; 5 jumpers, 5 t-shirts, 5 bottoms, messy play clothing, a seasonal jacket and footwear. We also add in extras such as sun hats, vests and socks as we know children need these items to fully participate in their learning and no one comes home clean after one day in nursery!

Packs are personalised to each schools colours and the child’s style preferences (so you can tell us if they won’t wear shorts, or will only wear cardigans!) and their sensory needs to make sure the packs are made to suit the individual. We also ask for bag colours and characters and try our hardest to match up to their personal style. We believe our service should make the child feel confident and comfortable that they match their peers. 

SO IF YOU THINK THAT...

- All children should have access to high quality school uniform?

- We should protect our environment and make positive pre-loved clothing choices? 

- By making little changes to our own lifestyle to support others we can make big changes for the future of our children?

Then please support us by voting for our Back to School & Nursery Pack project.  Thank you.

Team Social Flock

Facilitating the engagement in meaningful and therapeutic activities (horticulture, woodwork, gastronomy, fitness, nutrition and arts), we aim for people to have better physical, emotional and mental wellbeing; to have better connections with the wider community; and to gain access to new skills and training which will help them move on to positive destinations. We can work with anyone aged 16+ who is reporting difficulties with their mental health and wellbeing.

 

Three of our engagement staff recently qualified as Decider Skills Facilitators. We are now looking to introduce Decider Skills within our activity engagement sessions at The Walled Garden – Creative Wellbeing, Healthy Lifestyles, Gardening and Hospitality. Decider skills supports and encourages self-management, which includes things like sound and rational decision making. Participant workbooks are not within most client’s affordability, creating a financial barrier to meaningful access. From a cost of living perspective, supporting these expenditures would alleviate any financial pressure and allow clients to engage in this form of therapeutic and self-development activity equitably.  

 

How Decider Skills can directly influence the cost of living -

The ‘think’, ‘focus’ and ‘pace and plan’ skills support resilience and anxiety management, offering clients the confidence to navigate problematic situations with finances and seeking help. ‘Turn the mind’ challenges habitual behaviour and patterns, and offers alternative ways that can lead to a more helpful outcome. ‘STOPP’ considers impulse, and how we can objectively respond to strong emotions.

 

The Decider Skills | The Decider

We asked our young people and families about the impact of the cost of living on them, and what we as an organisation could do to ease this. The most common issue was the cost of clothes with ever growing kids. Some parents also said that children with sensory needs were not keen to buy new clothes as they liked the feel of the texture of certain garments, so help to repair them would be appreciated. 

If funded, we will run a series of sessions over the Easter, Summer and October holidays in partnership with a local sewing group where skilled workers will be on hand, along with youth workers, to help mend and improve items of clothing. Our AYP branded hoodies are extremely popular, and we can also add our logo to any other clothing, potentially making it more desirable for the young people to wear. Young people could even add the logo to their clothes to give them a new lease of life.

The whole project is a chance for our young people to be creative, for families to save money, and for waste to be reduced too. This could be extended to school uniform swap shops and become a regular feature of our work.

Project Overview

 

Project Title: Monthly Lunch Clubs  

Duration: One year  

Total Funding Requested: £1,800

 

Objectives:

 

1. Promote Community Integration: Create a welcoming space for individuals from diverse backgrounds to gather, share a meal, and engage in meaningful conversations.

 

2. Provide Access to Information and Resources: Collaborate with local services such as the Citizens Advice Bureau, Welfare Rights, and the Heat Project to provide attendees with valuable information and support.

 

3. Reduce Social Isolation: Foster connections among participants, helping to mitigate feelings of loneliness and enhance overall well-being.

 

4. Encourage Healthy Eating: Serve fresh, nutritious lunches that promote healthy eating habits and well-being.

 

Audience

 

Our lunch clubs will primarily target individuals from minority backgrounds, but we welcome all community members to join us. This inclusive approach will help to break down barriers, encourage understanding, and promote a sense of belonging among participants.

 

Activities and Structure

 

Each monthly lunch club will include:

 

Light Refreshments: A healthy, balanced meal prepared from fresh ingredients, promoting nutrition and well-being.

 

Guest Speakers: Representatives from partner organisations will be invited to speak and provide information on various topics, including welfare rights, financial advice, mental health resources, and community services.

 

-Open Forum: An opportunity for participants to share their experiences, ask questions, and seek support from staff and volunteers in a relaxed and friendly environment.

 

Expected Outcomes

 

Increased Community Engagement: Participants will develop new friendships and connections, fostering a sense of community.

 

 Improved Access to Resources: Attendees will gain awareness of and access to local services, enhancing their ability to navigate challenges they may face.

 

 Better Quality of Life: By reducing social isolation and providing nutritious meals, participants will experience improved mental and physical well-being.

 

Conclusion

 

We believe that the Monthly Lunch Clubs will be a vital initiative for promoting community cohesion, providing support, and enhancing the quality of life for individuals in Perth. With your generous funding of £1,800, we can implement this project and create lasting positive impacts within our community.

 

Thank you for considering our proposal. We look forward to the opportunity to work together to make a difference in the lives of those we serve.

 

We appreciate your support and consideration.

 

The Star Garden workshops will aim to involve the local young people in the community in gardening and other outdoor activities. We want to provide the children and young adults of Crieff with more exposure to gardening, composting, and sustainable gardening techniques. We understand not everyone has access to their own garden or gardening equipment, therefore with these workshops we aim to provide an opportunity to let a possible passion flourish amongst the youth. These workshops will provide a non-mainstream educational offering of engaging activities, in which the local youth will learn a range of skills both working as part of a team as well as independently.

The workshops will involve learning basic gardening techniques, such as planting and discussing growth cycles. Garden art, such as painting plant pots and other crafts. Composting workshop, learning about what can and cannot be composted. Herb and vegetable gardening, creating a ‘salad garden’ and learning how to care for herbs. Gardening also has many benefits for individuals with sensory affected disabilities. The activities in the workshops will help support the development of motor skills, can encourage emotional regulation, aid cognitive development, help deal with sensory responses and more.

The ‘Crieff Gleam Team’, who do litter picking in the local area, is something of interest to us as well, and we would like to also support their work during our workshops and get young people more involved in the community in which they live. We want to encourage the youth to explore the potential that comes with living in a rural location, such as having the opportunity to grow their own food in the garden, having a large outdoor space where they can come to relax and feel at peace. It is worth noting that the workshops will be free of charge for all those participating, as our main priority is to provide an opportunity for the youth of Crieff to explore new interests and hobbies.

To ensure the sustainability of these activities, we will run the workshops throughout June, July, and August. We plan to provide cover to accommodate the unpredictable Scottish weather, ensuring that the workshops can proceed rain or shine.

Overview: Wonderland is a community-based initiative devised by Adventure Circus SCIO in 2024. Wonderland’s aim is to bringing free outdoor circus performances and workshops to local parks in Perthshire. The project focuses on engaging children and families, particularly those from low-income areas, offering them the opportunity to experience live circus entertainment and actively participate in circus skills training within their own community (Coupar Angus), out of doors during the summer holidays. 

Our goals: 

• Access to the Arts during cost of living crisis: we want to provide children and families in low-income / semi-rural areas with the chance to see a professional circus performance, something that may otherwise be financially out of reach. 
• Skill Development: we love to share what we do, and so our performances always include an element of participation to encourage children to engage in circus skills. For example our performers will help members of the public to try juggling, hula hooping, and aerial arts, promoting physical activity, creativity and self-confidence. 
• Community Building: Our visits are intended to offer a community activity that brings local people together for a fun, inclusive and interactive experience. As an outdoor spectacle, there is no limit to the number of people who can attend. In 2024 we performed Wonderland in Coupar Angus to approximately 250 people of all ages. 
• Wellbeing Focus: It is our long term aim that our Wonderland events provoke audience members to consider taking part in circus skills, either through our education programme, or through self practise. Circus arts have a well known reputation for improving mental/emotional wellbeing due to a long history of inclusivity, and the skills offer an opportunity for self-expression, resilience and crucially for young people, play. 

Key Activities: 

• Outdoor Circus Show: Our professional circus performers will put on an engaging outdoor show that is family-friendly and accessible to all ages.  The show is based on Alice in Wonderland and so the story concept is recognisable to many people because of it’s well known characters and timeless themes such as curiosity, exploration, personal growth, absurdity and nonsense! 

• Taster Sessions: After the performance, children and adults will be invited to try their hand at various circus skills like juggling, hula hooping and aerial hoop workshops led by the circus performers. Participants will be encouraged to experiment and learn. 

• Community Involvement: Alongside our performers, local volunteers from Adventure Circus, including our young leaders, will assist with workshop delivery and gain valuable community experience. We will spend time getting to know local people and can encourage them to join us, continue to practise independently. 

Target Audience: 

• Children aged 3-14, particularly those from lower-income backgrounds who may not experience many special activities / experiences due to the cost of living crisis and limitations of the family budget 

• Families and community members who may not typically access large-scale entertainment or arts events because they cannot afford to attend or because they do not have the means to travel out with their area due to limitations of public transport / cost. 

Benefits: 

• For Children: Encourages physical activity and boosts confidence and resilience through fun, engaging experiences. 

• For Families: Provides a free, inclusive arts/circus experience that brings joy for all the family and introduces new ways to engage in physical activity. 

• For all: floor skills such as juggling and hula hooping are extremely low cost and are accessible beyond our Wonderland experiences through our community classes, or through self exploration at home using resources such as youtube/TikTok/Instagram 

• For the Community: Strengthens local connections Adventure Circus has within different areas throughout Perth & Kinross and helps to create lasting memories by bringing a positive, uplifting event to the community. 

Outcomes: 

With your help, we will be helping to increase access to the arts for children in underserved areas, we will encourage/enhance physical and mental wellbeing through creative circus play and we will help to strengthen community cohesion and pride in local parks as venues for cultural and recreational activities. 

By bringing the magic of the circus directly to the community, Wonderland creates a free, accessible opportunity for children to see, learn, and play, and best of all, it is all set up right in their own parkland!

Video: https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17929916303875766/