Rainbow Park project as Lossiemouth Covid-19 relief volunteers launch £20k fundraising drive for community wellbeing hub
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LOSSIEMOUTH'S covid-19 community relief team are fundraising for the town's first ever community wellbeing hub.
The project will be home to the Lossie 2-3 group, which has played a key role in supporting vulnerable people during coronavirus lockdown, and include a community cafe and also have rooms for hire.
A Justgiving funding appeal has been launched to raise £20,000 which would help the community group find the first six months rent and establish itself in a building in the town it hopes to secure as a base.
The community council and 2-3 group have been partners - working with Moray Food Plus among others - in providing vital support to people adversely impacted by Covid-19 since lockdown came in on March 23.
People who have been either furloughed or made redundant, including single self-employed people, and elderly people living alone are among those to have been supported with food parcels, hot meals, vouchers and emotional and practical support.
The community support effort, which has received funding from Highlands and Islands Enterprise, is still based out of the Baptist Church.
At its peak, the project has supported more than 120 households, including many families. Although it has been wound down as lockdown restrctions have eased, food parcels and fruit boxes still get delivered to people in the town every Wednesday.
Louise McBride, who runs the 2-3 group, and Carolle Ralph, of the community council, believe the wellbeing hub can build on the community spirit which has shone through during the pandemic.
"The amount of friendships which have been formed has been great and we have a really good group," said Louise.
And Carolle said the entire community in Lossiemouth had come together to deal with the impact of Covid-19.
"We have a team of volunteers who have worked with us," she said. "Most of our volunteers are actually unemployed, have long-term mental health issues, are furloughed or are retired.
"We were also very aware of how difficult it is for people post-Covid in this still weird world, no social life, constraints on clubs and groups."
While the covid relief effort has scaled down - although it will remain in place until at least the end of September - the group of around 10 volunteers wanted to take on another project in the meantime for the good of the community.
The 2-3 group is based in the community centre, which remains closed and there will be no room for the toddlers groups once the new Lossie High School is opened.
Added Carolle: "We decided we needed to harness this enthusiasm and think of how we could move forward with our Covid-19 project in a different direction. There is a wee toddler park outside the centre desperately in need of some TLC so we decided to tackle it."
It has been renamed Rainbow Park - in a nod to the symbolism of the rainbow at the height of the pandemic - and has been cleared of all weeds and tidied up ready for a fresh lick of paint and some joinery repairs.
"The Rainbow Park seemed like an appropriate name as it is synonymous with 2020 so far, we hope to create a safe, fresh space for parents for wee people to play safely outdoors."
The group has no budget and is reliant on goodwill from individuals and companies to get the job done.
"After that we have several other ideas to keep our volunteers busy, it is fun, rewarding and a source of mutual support for anyone who may be feeling a little low during these difficult times," added Louise.
Anyone who wants to join in or support the effort, follow the Rainbow Communtiy Park Project Lossie on Facebook.
