Grow Me
An award from the Scottish Government Aspiring Communities Fund has enabled Cothrom to expand its learning, mentoring and support services within the local community. The “Grow Me” project offers support and advice to enable people to access services to improve their quality of life and participate more fully in the life of the community.
A family drop in centre based in Ormiclate provides focus for the activities whilst outreach events ensure that the community from Berneray to Barra has access to the service. Childcare is available to enable parents of young children to participate. A wide range of sessions are offered including healthy food initiatives, money management, positive parenting workshops; digital skills; gardening and growing food. Young adults are also able to access training for employment and skills for successful independent living such as budgeting and cooking. Individual and group support and advice is also available to individuals and their families who are dealing with addiction.
Increasing local service provision and encouraging inclusion and participation in community life leads to strengthened and empowered communities. This stimulates economic activity creating the environment and opportunities which encourage people to remain in the community or to return and settle in the area. The Aspiring Communities Funding of the “Grow Me” project has enabled Cothrom to continue to provide community centred learning, training and childcare and to develop and deliver long term local solutions that address local priorities and needs.
A family drop in centre based in Ormiclate provides focus for the activities whilst outreach events ensure that the community from Berneray to Barra has access to the service. Childcare is available to enable parents of young children to participate. A wide range of sessions are offered including healthy food initiatives, money management, positive parenting workshops; digital skills; gardening and growing food. Young adults are also able to access training for employment and skills for successful independent living such as budgeting and cooking. Individual and group support and advice is also available to individuals and their families who are dealing with addiction.
Increasing local service provision and encouraging inclusion and participation in community life leads to strengthened and empowered communities. This stimulates economic activity creating the environment and opportunities which encourage people to remain in the community or to return and settle in the area. The Aspiring Communities Funding of the “Grow Me” project has enabled Cothrom to continue to provide community centred learning, training and childcare and to develop and deliver long term local solutions that address local priorities and needs.
Affordable recipes and informative links
If you'd like some inspiration for lunch or dinner while still keeping a good budget, here are some of our favourite recipes that include leftovers as well as tinned vegetables. They're quick, healthy, and affordable.
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One of the best ways to stick to your budget when it comes to food is to shop around for the best deals. However, if you are unable to travel and/or only have access to one shop, another good way to make the most of your money is to keep an eye on what deals are available currently and in the near future. This way you can purchase items you'll need in the near future when they are at a lower price - but it does take a little bit of extra planning to make sure you are not buying things purely because the are on offer!
Here is a link to the Co-Op's website about what offers are on: https://www.coop.co.uk/products/deals
Keeping track of your finances is another important part of budgeting. This website has some good tips on how, where, and when to save. All points may not be applicable to you, but some of the points we found useful include saving on childcare, switching your energy supplier, and making sure that your bank accounts, including your credit card, are right for you.
Here's the link to the GoodToKnow website: https://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/family/money-news/how-to-save-money-276782
Citizens Advice Scotland offer some great resources when it comes to managing debt and money. If you are unsure about how to go about things like tax, pensions, repossession and evictions - or any issue related to your personal finances, we recommend having a look at their website here: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/scotland/debt-and-money/
Lastly, if you feel overwhelmed by your situation please know that there are resources available to help you, free of charge. The NHS have set out five steps to help with your mental wellbeing, which you can read about here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/improve-mental-wellbeing/
We've compiled a few ways in which Cothrom can help with each of these steps as set out by the NHS in a blog post here.
You are also more than welcome to get in touch with us here at Cothrom, where we can offer support and mentoring, as well as training suitable to your needs. You can get in touch on the details below.
Here is a link to the Co-Op's website about what offers are on: https://www.coop.co.uk/products/deals
Keeping track of your finances is another important part of budgeting. This website has some good tips on how, where, and when to save. All points may not be applicable to you, but some of the points we found useful include saving on childcare, switching your energy supplier, and making sure that your bank accounts, including your credit card, are right for you.
Here's the link to the GoodToKnow website: https://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/family/money-news/how-to-save-money-276782
Citizens Advice Scotland offer some great resources when it comes to managing debt and money. If you are unsure about how to go about things like tax, pensions, repossession and evictions - or any issue related to your personal finances, we recommend having a look at their website here: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/scotland/debt-and-money/
Lastly, if you feel overwhelmed by your situation please know that there are resources available to help you, free of charge. The NHS have set out five steps to help with your mental wellbeing, which you can read about here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/improve-mental-wellbeing/
We've compiled a few ways in which Cothrom can help with each of these steps as set out by the NHS in a blog post here.
You are also more than welcome to get in touch with us here at Cothrom, where we can offer support and mentoring, as well as training suitable to your needs. You can get in touch on the details below.
Our favourite way of meal planning
Shopping around for the best deal is not only time consuming, but if you live in a rural or remote area you may only have one option for getting your weekly shop. This can make meal planning a stressful task, especially if you're doing it on your own.
But one way of both meal planning and making sure you're making use of the deals and offers available is to spend some time before doing your shop to come up with a few meals. We like to browse the Co-op's current deals page and come up with some meal inspiration from there. You don't need to make meals out of only what is on offer, instead complement with store cupboard essentials such as stock cubes and tinned vegetables.
For example, if potatoes and leeks are on offer - you've got your basis for a great soup! You just need to add a stock cube, some seasoning, and if you can some bacon.
Similarly, if par-boiled rice, frozen peas, and crispy chicken burgers or cutlets are available, just add some tinned sweet corn for a chicken fried rice.
But one way of both meal planning and making sure you're making use of the deals and offers available is to spend some time before doing your shop to come up with a few meals. We like to browse the Co-op's current deals page and come up with some meal inspiration from there. You don't need to make meals out of only what is on offer, instead complement with store cupboard essentials such as stock cubes and tinned vegetables.
For example, if potatoes and leeks are on offer - you've got your basis for a great soup! You just need to add a stock cube, some seasoning, and if you can some bacon.
Similarly, if par-boiled rice, frozen peas, and crispy chicken burgers or cutlets are available, just add some tinned sweet corn for a chicken fried rice.
Want to find out more?
Get in touch to arrange a meeting or an informal chat:
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