Community Schools 2008 Charity

Community Schools 2008 Charity
Community Schools 2008 Charity Board members

People living in the Falkirk area are looking forward to continued support and benefit from the newly rebranded Community Schools 2008 Charity.

Commonly known as the Falkirk Community Schools Charity Board which was set up in 2008, the purpose of The Community Schools 2008 Charity is to advance education within the catchment areas of Denny High School, Falkirk High School, Grangemouth High School and St Mungo’s RC High School and to provide (or assist with the provision of) recreational facilities within this ‘Operating Area’ with the object of improving the conditions of life for the persons for whom the facilities are primarily intended.

To achieve this, the charity is looking to accept application forms from organisations within the community and applying for funds to enhance their activities.

Partner bodies include: Falkirk Council, Falkirk Sports Council and the Falkirk Arts and Civic Council who are all invited to have Director representation on the charity’s Board. Senior high school pupils, parents, Trade Union representatives and local people with relevant expertise are also encouraged to become Directors in order to make decisions on where funding should be allocated.

Current Directors of the Board of the Charity for the period 2021–2022 are: Chair, Christine Bell,  Treasurer, Bill Kelly, Legal Secretary, Fiona Traill and from Falkirk Council Gary Greenhorn, Head of Planning & Resources, Children’s Services, Pupil Representative Sophie Duncan from Falkirk High School, from Arts and Civic Council Bill McDonald, Trade Union Representative Irene Campbell, (EIS).

There are currently vacant Board positions available especially for parent, school pupil, and Trades Union positions.

Christine Bell, Chair of The Community Schools 2008 Charity, said: “Potentially everyone who lives in the Falkirk Council area can benefit from our charity. To date the Charity Board has considered 476 grant applications and awarded 380 grants to various projects totalling £615,000.

“The projects funded were applications from various adult and children’s sports groups, creative arts groups, and voluntary community groups across the Falkirk Council area to assist with a wide variety of inspiring projects and ground breaking initiatives.

“These grants consisted of awards of up to £2000 each - with a few exceptions of £10K Community Challenge Grants. These applications consisted of contributions to a huge variety of projects, from requests for play equipment in primary school playgrounds, costumes for theatrical group performances, tennis club equipment, out of school educational resources, cooking and camping equipment for Scouts groups, Forth Valley College Graduation Awards and hosting of the Falkirk Town Hall Remembrance Concert and many more innovative and inspirational projects, all of which advance education and contribute to improving the health and wellbeing of people living in the Falkirk Council area.

“We are looking forward to receiving more grant applications in the months to come as we move forward with a new name and branding and can’t wait to hear from educational organisations.”

Small grants of up to £2000 are directly available from the Community Schools 2008 Charity, details of which can be found on Falkirk Council Website https://www.falkirk.gov.uk/services/people-communities/funding/community-schools.aspx )

The Charity is now able to offer Grants of up to £50,000 for large scale projects. The application process for these larger grants can be found on the Foundation Scotland website under Falkirk Area Grants – Community Schools 2008 Charity Site Search | Foundation Scotland .