wellbeing
Scotland the Bread are crowd funding
Scotland grows a lot of wheat but precious little of it is used to make bread. We rely on imports and so have little control over this staple food. It turns out that the wheat varieties in today’s bread may well have less of the nutrients needed for health than in the past. Better grain and better bread can help solve our growing health problems, Scotland the Bread have started research to find more nutritious wheats, suitable for low-impact farming. And they’re passing on the skills that turn locally-grown wheat into delicious, healthy bread.
To help local communities bring better bread within everyone’s reach, Scotland the Bread are supporting six groups to grow their own healthy bread, from the soil to the slice. See here for more details on how to get better bread within the reach of everyone!
Want to know more, visit; http://www.breadmatters.com/
Our Song: Mental Health In Young People
Check out this fantastic film from young people in the Mearns area.
Community Food and Health (Scotland) Development Funding Programme
The Community Food and Health (Scotland) development funding programme is open to groups who would like to develop new or existing activities that will improve access to, or take up of, a healthy balanced diet in low-income communities in Scotland. 
Three funding schemes were launched on 12 June 2015:
1. The Capacity Building Fund offers grants up to £500 for groups and agencies running food and health activities in low-income areas working to strengthen their organisations.
2. The one-year Development Fund offers grants from £500 to £2,000 that can develop, recruit for, and complete food and health activities by the end of September 2016.
3. The two-year Development Fund offers grants from £500 to £5,000 for groups and agencies planning food activities requiring more time to become established or to reach those most in need.
Applications can be submitted for more than one of these funding schemes as long as the criteria for that fund is met. Applications for the Capacity Building Fund can be made at any time until all the funding for this year has been allocated. The deadline for applications for the one-year and two year Development Funds is 7 August 2015.
Home-Start Kincardine
HOME-START KINCARDINE 
requires a
SENIOR CO-ORDINATOR
35 hours per week
Salary range – £25,404 – £28,644 depending on experience
Home-Start Kincardine is a voluntary organisation committed to promoting the welfare of families with at least one child under 5.
We are looking for a Senior Co-ordinator to take responsibility for the day to day management of the scheme along with maintaining a family support case load. The successful applicant will have experience in family support work, project management and have parenting experience.
The remit is broad and varied and requires an understanding of the needs of young families, the management of volunteers and staff and the ability to maintain a creative and flexible approach to the development of Home-Start Kincardine.
You will have the ability to negotiate funding and deliver training for volunteers. You will support the Board of Trustees in assuring the quality and effectiveness of service is delivered.
The post is full time and applicants must have use of their own car, for which expenses will be paid. You will be based at the office in Stonehaven. The successful candidate will be subject to PVG Check.
For an application pack please call 01569 767773 or visit www.homestartkincardine.org/news
Closing date is midday on13th July 2015 and interviews will take place on 23rd July.
Scottish Charity No. SCO22795
Gourdon Primary Senior Citizen Club
Here at K & M Communities, we like to share with you the great things which are happening in our communities. Read on to learn more about the links being forged between the generations in Gourdon in the Gourdon Primary Senior Citizen Club.
P6 & P7 pupils from Gourdon Primary and senior citizens of the village come together to carry out intergenerational learning. The senior citizens club has been running at the school for over 6 years, there was a gap between the generations in the village so by creating this club it brings everyone together for greater understanding.
Interested, watch this short clip to learn more.
Would this work in your community?
Community and therapeutic garden networking – Aberdeen
Community and therapeutic garden networking – Aberdeen
|
Where: Donside Village, The Meeting Room, Donside Village Square, Aberdeen
When: Wednesday 01 July.
This day is free but booking is essential
|
|
10am – 3 pm Are you involved in community or therapeutic gardening activity and looking to network with others? This networking day will include the opportunity to meet others, hear about the recent development of community garden activity at Donside Village and raise topics for group discussion. A soup and bread lunch will be included. This event is organised by the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens and supported by Trellis – supporting health through horticulture. 3pm – 4.30 pm This session is aimed at those looking to establish or support community gardening activity in their locality. Come along to a short presentation of the benefits of community growing, have your questions answered on what to do next and find out more about resources available to get you started. For more information about the day or to see a specific topic for discussion included please contact lou@farmgarden.org.uk Please feel free to circulate event details and booking link to colleagues or potentially interested parties. When
July 1st, 2015 10:00 AM through 4:30 PM
Location
Donside Village Square
Aberdeen AB24 2PL Contact
|
Reader’s Day
Love reading, love tea, love cakes
Meet the authors and enjoy home bakes 
Join us in Mearns Community Library on Saturday 27th June, 1.00pm – 4.30pm, for afternoon tea, cakes and authors and share your love of reading with like-minded others.
Supported by Scottish Book Trust, we are delighted to welcome 3 Scottish authors who will talk to you about their work.
The afternoon will be very informal with tea and ‘fine pieces’ on offer and during three 40 minute sessions, you will have the opportunity to meet all our authors and mingle with other readers.
Take part in our quiz, buy books by the authors. Bring along a book you have read that you think others would enjoy and add it to the BookSwap table. Read the rest of this entry »
How Can I Volunteer ?
Do you want to help the world or your community? Do you want to build your own skills, make new friends, and learn? Do you love what you do? Do you want to share your gifts with others or give something back? Examining these sorts of questions can help you to choose the right direction for your volunteer work. 
Every day there are thousands of people making a difference in all sorts of ways, but they don’t get paid. They are benefiting their communities and also themselves. They are volunteers!
No-one will ask you to sign a contract or commit yourself to work or time that doesn’t suit you and you are free to stop volunteering if you wish to. On the other hand organisations will be very grateful for whatever help you are able to give. It is your community and we all contribute to it in whichever way we want. Read the rest of this entry »
Are you Volunteer Friendly?
Continuing our to focus on Volunteer week, we find out a bit about The Volunteer Friendly Award…
The Volunteer Friendly Award is a simple, user-friendly quality standard designed to support, recognise and reward groups who are good at involving volunteers.
There are several groups in the Kincardine and Mearns area working towards the award and the Aberdeenshire Voluntary Action is encouraging other groups to get involved in achieving Volunteer Friendly status
Many essential services in Scotland’s communities are enhanced by volunteers. Volunteering also has a significant social value as it is increasingly being used to give excluded individuals the chance to build their confidence and skills through helping others. It has never been more important for groups to be able to show how good they are at involving and managing their volunteers.
Volunteer Friendly helps you to take a systematic look at what your organisation does and how you do it. It offers a flexible approach which allows your group to work at its own pace, with full support from the Aberdeenshire Voluntary Action. Read the rest of this entry »
Music and Mental Health Benefits
Listening to music is a relatively inexpensive, effective activity which can be used in everyday life to improve our mental wellbeing. Lively up beat music can lift the spirits and improve mood and sometimes encourage us to get moving! Similarly calm and soothing music can help us to relax and ease fear and anxiety. Studies suggest, listening to music releases a chemical in the brain that has a key role in affecting our mood.
Here are some of the psychological benefits of listening to music:
- Helps improve mood and increase positive emotions
- Encourages self-expression
- Improves level of interest
- Improves social interaction
- Increases relaxation and reduces tension and anxiety
- Improves self esteem
Studies also show that music promotes positive overall health and those that listen to music demonstrate:
- A better night’s sleep
- Diminished pain
- Improved memory and recall
- Increased ability to concentrate
- Increased mobility and co-ordination
As mentioned above music is something that can be incorporated into your everyday life and is very versatile. Music can be enjoyed:
- On your own or in a crowd
- While doing housework or in the shower
- While out for a walk or in the car
- At work or relaxing at home in the evening
- Going to sleep or awakening
- While moving/dancing or lying still
- At home or outdoors
The possibilities for incorporating music into our everyday routines are endless and with the use of modern technology e.g. iPod, iPad, playlists, i tunes, Spotify etc. a wide variety of music and genres have become extremely easy to access. 
Eating Well and Mental Wellbeing
All this week, Pillar Kincardine have been telling us about issues important to them. Over the next couple of days, we look at how your diet and what you listen to can effect your mental health…
What does eating well mean? Broadly speaking it means eating in a way that:
- Keeps our weight stable
- Provides all the necessary food groups and vitamins
- Is an enjoyable experience
Why is eating well important?
It helps to prevent many diseases which are linked with being overweight. Diseases include high blood sugar, high blood pressure, heart problems, stroke, cancer, joint problems and sleep difficulties. Eating well also nourishes our brain so we feel better emotionally.
Eating is essential for sustaining our lives, keeping healthy and preventing disease but most of us struggle to eat what we need and battle with eating what we want and what makes us feel better emotionally. We tend to eat if we are sad, lonely or hurt but equally if we want to celebrate success or as a reward. Attempting to change our eating habits is much more than just learning the facts it’s about making good choices every day which is easier said than done. Understanding why healthy eating is so important and looking at the benefits of certain foods helps on this journey. Read the rest of this entry »
Mindful Colouring
Read on to discover how Pillar have used colouring in to enhance the lives of many…
“Mindfulness” is a bit of a buzzword in mental health nowadays, but is in fact rooted in the ancient traditions of Buddhism. Tried and tested for centuries, the art of mindfulness encourages us to slow down and focus on the present moment. It urges us not to worry about a past that cannot be changed and a future that will not be improved by present anxiety. Experiencing all that the present moment has to offer is, from this point of view, truly living, and will have numerous benefits for both our physical and our mental health. ReachOut.com lists these benefits as including less anxiety, better problem solving and sleep and greater happiness overall. Read the rest of this entry »
K&M Communities 