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

Letham Climate Challenge wish to develop our Furniture Store to create a community tool library. Just like a library for books, you can have access to things you sometimes need or want to use without spending lots of money and without having to find space for it in your home. Examples include tools for DIY projects or sewing machine; pressure washer, carpet cleaner, camping equipment, specialist cookware or even an electric bike. 

We currently sell second hand furniture and household electricals PAT tested by our volunteers. This project would allow us to extend the scope of our organisation by reducing our communities spending while contributing to our carbon net zero targets. By using our tool library, members would save money, save space, and save the planet.

We are currently in a cost-of-living crisis, and are based in an economically deprived area. Tool libraries across the UK are known to save their uses an average of £300 per user per year. We might all have a small basic tool kit in our homes, but when it comes to larger, more expensive items many people cannot justify the expense.     

Home-owners with limited resources could then maintain their homes, which helps to provide for housing security. We would like to encourage more of our customers to develop their DIY skills so that furniture can be upcycled to increase their longevity. As an organisation we pride ourselves on encouraging sustainable living and sustainable practices. With the production of a tool library, we can provide our community with access to hundreds of useful items for free. This will encourage our community to try out those upcycling projects, to mend their existing items rather than buying new. 

By sharing resources, we are making our community stronger and more resilient. By borrowing instead of buying we are reducing production and consumption of the same, infrequently used items. Our community would be reducing their carbon footprint and helping to transition towards a circular economy. By not buying new items, we reduce the amount of resources extracted from the Earth, save energy from production and reduce the amount of eventual waste.

We intend to track the amount of items borrowed to track the collective carbon saved by our community. We are promoting the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling among people in Perth, demonstrating how small actions can address the climate emergency. 

We have the space, but now require the tools and equipment to build an inventory. We will seek as much second-hand as possible, but many items will need to be purchased from new. We also need to create an online inventory website to list items available, and allow registration for membership and members to book out items. We expect the tool library to be very popular, so would require a part time member of staff to manage it and itemise all of the items being borrowed and returned.

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

We want to enable more local people to access cheap or free bikes that have been serviced by our volunteers. We are currently needing a store for bikes that need serviced and this fund will help to build this.  We also need to make our workshop wind and waterproof and this will contribute to this work.  Once this is completed we will then be able to train and help local people to service, store and maintain bikes, all for free!!

We want to identify families that would benefit from our charitable aims and support all members to enjoy the wonderful local cycle routes.  Imagine a picnic on Lady Mary's or a trip for great coffee and cakes at Farmton Honesty box?

We will help all those that need follow up servicing and help them to see cycling as accessible and an easy way to get about Crieff.  

Our group Safe Art is dedicated to providing a safe space for adults with mental health difficulties to come along for tea and coffee, to socialise with members in similar situations, and help them out of the isolation that poverty and the current cost of living crisis is causing. Though our Arts Facilitator, we provide many different art and craft projects, some of which are chosen by our group members. Currently we have around eleven regular members who come along to the group each week and a few members who prefer to come every other week. Our group members can join in with group projects, work on individual projects, for example colouring books, knitting, drawing and painting in various media. The group members don't have to be artistic and can also choose to come along purely for the social aspect of being in the group. 

Social Isolation is a highlighted issue and is a current challenge for our group members. We are based at the Crieff Community Hospital where it is easy and accessible for everyone who wants to attend. Our group members recognise this venue as a comfortable and safe environment where the group will share their own experiences and challenges, while also recognising the need for confidentiality. Our numbers are steadily increasing with use of posters and word of mouth.

For our group members, the cost of living crisis has created not just a burden on personal budgets, and finances, but also an emotional and mental stress which has had a negative impact on mental health and wellbeing. Our group provides some peer support using the medium of art and crafts as a common interest. Arts and Crafts provide something for us to focus on for a few hours a week. By having a positive outlet some members of the group have now found employment and some have moved onto further education. 

 This project is for the materials and a facilitator to complete a new group project over 2025. The project will be a mixed media wall hanging of the Eppie Callum Oak Tree which can be found along Lady Mary's Walk in Crieff. This magnificent Oak Tree got its name from the lady who ran the Oakbank Inn, a favourite amongst drovers and it's alleged that the massive tree started its life in a teapot! It is well known for sheltering the notorious outlaw Rob Roy MacGregor from his enemies and aided Bonnie Prince Charlie, who allegedly hid inside its trunk. 

We are looking for £2,000 for this project and this cost includes, fees for the art facilitator, a day trip to Stirling Castle where there are many tapestries and wall hangings to gain inspiration from as well as a tapestry studio which shows how the tapestries were made. We would need to pay for transport that would accommodate our disabled members, so that they don't miss out. We are also looking to cover the entry costs to the Castle itself. 

For our tapestry, funding is required for a good strong backing to accommodate the size and weight. Materials and threads we will aim to source as sustainably and as cheaply as we can from places such as Remake, Cancer Research, Child after Child and Charity shops, this way we also support local shops in Crieff. 

In recent years we took part in PKC's 22 Women project, Raise the Roof, as part of the Scottish Government Year of Stories in 2022. We chose Katie McNiven for our women and we researched all her stories and worked with MoKa to create a clay piece of art which told her story. We hope to make our wall hanging just as impressive and share this magnificent Oak tree and its story with All of Crieff.

Addressing the cost of living Rattray primary children will have the opportunity to have a fun filled afternoon with laughter and joy and bring about memories.   This project combats poverty and alleviates the cost of living pressures on parents who are unable to afford additional costs outwith the normal weekly living expenses.   This is not about education, keeping fit and active,  learning a new skills or achievement - it is a simple approach to providing a little extra excitement and fun in a world where the challenges against the cost of living crisis can be overhwelming for many parents.     The party events can be spread over a period of time ensuring that Rattray Primary School children can share fun with their school friends in an environment where they will feel safe with no stigma.  This project aligns with the Perth & Kinross Community Action Plan 'for everyone to live well, free from poverty and inequality'.   

Letham4All SCIO has been working with a variety of partners across Perth and Kinross at a very local community level, a dignified and holistic route to reduce the impact of poverty.  As a result of this work, Letham4All has successfully piloted the use of the Pay Point Platform and extended to scope of Perth Cards, to provide small amounts of financial support, to help people in immediate financial crisis. Working with existing referral routes this project will provide an additional route for support for those who are not successful with a crisis grant or where a crisis grant is not an appropriate option. The Paypoint Platform enables the sending of utility voucher codes by text message to a mobile phone that can be redeemed in the usual place people top up their utility cards/keys and the Perth Cards across Perth and Kinross can be used in a variety of shops to purchase food and utilities.

This referral-based support has been accessed by a range of public agencies and 3rd sector organisations who have had no other means of supporting people with financial support to offer a breathing space while longer-term solutions are set up. This has been particularly effective out with traditional working hours and at weekends and support can be organised and delivered within an hour.  We know from feedback from agencies that being able to offer this quick solution to those most in need is very beneficial to the household, encourages further discussion to longer-term solutions to prevent further crises, and reduces stress and worry. Partners have also told us that being able to use the Pay Point Platform as a means of offering support saves valuable staff time in handling and delivering cash payments for utility tops-ups and is a much faster way of getting support to their clients.  To deliver this project Letham4All and its partners use the Citizen Advice Bureau’s information-sharing protocol, The Fast Online Referral Tracking System, FORT. This system enables all partners to see what referrals and support services have been received by a service user eliminating the risk of duplication, and giving support services a clear picture of services received and of any gaps emerging in meeting the needs of the person.Letham4All will reach out through its existing partners and networks in Coupar Angus, Meigle, and Alyth to ensure that information on how this support can be accessed through the referral process and The Fast Online Referral Tracking System is widely shared and understood.

Facilitating the engagement in meaningful and therapeutic activities (horticulture, woodwork, gastronomy, exercise and movement, 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.

This grant would be meaningfully utilised to support hall hire costs at St Catharine’s, Blairgowrie, for a period of 45 weeks. The provision of this grant will allow us to continue (and expand) our weekly yoga and movement sessions without any direct implications on the charity’s restricted budget. It will also prevent clients being required to make a direct contribution, which has historically highlighted financial limitations and subsequent disengagement. From a cost of living perspective, we feel this pressure is likely contributing to already existing financial stress. Covering these costs would alleviate this pressure and allow clients to engage in this form of therapeutic activity without any financial burden. The provision of hall hire costs would therefore provide a more equitable approach. For 45 weeks of the year we will facilitate yoga and movement sessions for up to 12 clients (per session). Attendees will be registered mental health and wellbeing clients within our Blairgowrie & Rattray community. We will take an intergenerational care approach for these sessions, meaning clients of all ages (16+) will be welcomed and encouraged to participate together. Sessions will run for 45 minutes and will be facilitated by a team member who has varied qualifications in yoga and Pilates (City and Guilds Teaching Qualification, 1993; British School of Yoga and other movement therapies, 2000; Pilates Level 3, 2016).