Brighter Blainslie Committee’s aims are to keep the village verges, pathways and planters tidy, accessible and appealing for our community. The phone box has been renovated and now serves as a book and toy exchange and the Committee runs a monthly Lunch Social.
It is the monthly Lunch Social that is funded via Borders Community Action.
This a group organised by volunteer members of Brighter Blainslie Committee. It is a considerable ask of folk, as there are now about 30 village residents attending and so this is a lot of soup and cakes to make. All our soups and cakes are home-made and we intend to keep it that way.
Lifting the burden of fund-raising has encouraged members of the community out with the Brighter Blainslie Committee to get involved. This has made our successful Lunch Social an enjoyable and sustainable project for everyone.
The people attending the Lunch Socials have not only become friends and supports to each other but this project has also bought together residents previously unknown to each other, even though they live in the same small village. Our residents (aged 2 to mid 90’s) get together once a month to have a cheery blether over our home made soup and Great Blainslie Bake Off bakes. There has been much hilarity over the introduction of a monthly “Soup from around the world”. A very spicy soup resulted in a competition amongst the males as to who could swallow a mouthful. The females were much more risk adverse, but helpfully in attendance with the fire extinguisher. We have also had a very unsuccessful German Beer & Cheese Soup, never to be repeated again. However, a Persian soup and more recently a Japanese seaweed & Ramen noodle soup were clear winners!
We have a number of elderly people who have lost their partners who did not leave their houses who I now see taking a walk around the village. We had a particularly emotional comment from an elderly woman who has overcome her agoraphobia through attending the lunches. For those who have to miss a lunch due to medical reasons we deliver a selection of cakes, if there are any left!
Recruiting volunteers for anything is often a difficult task but relieving a group of the need to fund-raise as well as deliver their project has been crucial in attracting more volunteer interest in the Lunch Socials.
For the volunteers, it too has been an opportunity to make friends with people previously unknown to them. It provides us with much hilarity too!
A particular example of how it has helped us as volunteers is from my perspective as a relatively young person with MS. I moved to Blainslie 3 years ago and knew no-one. I live alone and independently and am no longer able to work as a nurse which has been heart-breaking. This project has given me a new purpose and increased the confidence I have in my abilities. Through this volunteer group (and actually also amongst the Lunch Social attendees) I feel reassured that when I need help I am not embarrassed to ask. Changing a light bulb is impossible!
The Lunch Social initiative has been so successful that in 2 years we have at least quadrupled the number of people attending. Our project is expanding organically and at a pace comfortable to everyone.
This is not applicable to our initiative.
The folk in our village are keen to see this project continue and so announcing our yearly funding application success comes with much relief and happiness.
The funding application is very easy and straightforward which is very welcome.
We have a self-sustaining project that currently requires no additional support.
