Denise McIntosh, Chairperson

Before we start, I feel it would be thoughtless not to mention Anne Short MBE, who passed away recently. Anne was a guiding light in shaping the care project and served as a trustee for many years. The CCP is part of her legacy, and we are all so grateful for her invaluable input. Anne will be deeply missed in Cromarty. So, with that in mind I would like to take this opportunity to have a one minute’s silence.

It has been another busy year for the care project, we have been heavily focused on our 10th Anniversary, which we held on Friday the 29th of August in the Victoria Hall.  This was well supported, and received a lot of positive feedback from everyone who had come.  Some had suggested that they weren’t aware of how much we were actually involved in and were full of praise for the support we have given the community over the last ten years. 

The Community Sharing Larder 

The Larder was funded by a grant from the Corra Foundation for £2,000.  This supported the Larder up until Spring of this year. 

Since then, the Larder has been funded by the Volant Charitable Trust, administered by Foundation Scotland.  Their grant of £4,200 will keep the Larder secure until Spring/Summer 2026. 

Just last week we received our new larder cupboard, which we purchased from the Black Isle Men’s Shed, which is larger and more stable than the old one. We are very grateful to the Black Isle Men’s Shed for everything they have done to make sure it was exactly what we wanted, and for providing such excellent workmanship.

Special thanks must go to the volunteers who stock daily – wind rain or shine!  Without them, the larder would not be what it is.  Thanks also to our trustees Karen and Jane, who have made sure all the essentials are bought.

Cromarty Primary School

For a second year running, we were able to secure funding for Cromarty Primary’s school trips.  The award of £3,276 from Global Engineering Nigg covered the costs of the trips.  Teachers and parents alike are very grateful for the funding which was secured as this means that every child was able to take part.

Classic Film Club

For a second year also, we were awarded a grant from the Port of Cromarty Firth for £1,955.  This has allowed the Film Club to continue to show two screenings per month.  Helen Charley says We have had a good year, with a lot of films that were suggested by members.

Since the last AGM we have shown 21 films. 396 people have attended, many with hearing problems, early dementia and mobility problems.

We are incredibly grateful to the Cromarty Port Authority for making the 2 films a month possible with their grant, and I am so glad that Cromarty Care project can act as a platform for the Funds.

My special thanks go to Alison Seller whose skill at filling in complicated grant forms is legendary!!

Monday Lunch club 

The Lunch Club re-convened at the start of October 2024 at the Fishertown Inn and concluded there in spring 2025. We received excellent feedback from the Club members about the quality of the food and the surroundings, and we want to express our appreciation to Ingrid and Pete for looking after the Lunch Club so well. With funding from the Bank of Scotland Foundation, we were able to offer a two-course lunch at only £3 for each member.

Over the Summer Term, pupils in P6 and P7 extended their hospitality for a second year.   This included:  planning meals, preparing food (including home-baking), serving at tables, providing musical entertainment and playing board games with Lunch Club members – a truly intergenerational project, which we hope will become an annual project.  

Winter Warmth Payments

We were able to make payments of £60 to 57 households, totalling:  £3420.  This payment was assisted by an award from Cromarty Open Gardens of £1,500, which we then topped up from our own reserves.  These payments were especially appreciated last year, when the government withdrew the Winter Fuel Payment, normally made to pensioners.

Cromarty Youth Café “Snug”

We secured a grant of £3,000 from the Hugh Fraser Foundation, to help with the Youth Café “Snug” project. The Youth Café have refurbished two rooms in the Victoria Hall, one of which is a quiet space where young people can chill and decompress. There is a grand opening of this next month, to which we are all warmly invited.

Baby and Toddler Group (Claire Fraser)

This is still being well attended and they would like to extend their thanks to the care project for helping them to hold special sessions which all the children enjoyed.  They now have a rota of parents who are able to open up and close, which helps take the pressure off one person.  The group is attended by child minders and grandparents as well as parents.  They have seen a slight decrease in attendance this year. 

Trikes (Maxine Chapman)

The Trikes have taken around fifty passengers on trips throughout the past year.  We have regular requests for trike taxis to the Monday Lunch Club and the Classic Film Club.  In addition to this, the trikes have been used during annual community events such as the Open Gardens Weekend and the Crime and Thrillers Weekend.  

In spring, summer and autumn, the trikes are stored in The Sheddie at the Victoria Hall.  They will be moved to their winter storage, David and Susan Kent’s garage, to allow easier access for the gritters at The Sheddie.  We are incredibly grateful to the Victoria Hall and to David and Susan Kent for their continued support.

Tristan Chapman took over the servicing of the trikes and we would like to thank him for that. Special appreciation also to our regular pilots, Robert Hogg and Alistair Hourston, and our trainer/pilot, Nige Shapcott.

Table Tennis

The table tennis club continues to meet almost every week in the Victoria hall, at present they have 15 members, and they allow the youth café use of equipment throughout the holidays and when needed.

Crisis Fund

The Cromarty crisis fund is a new fund which we are building up. This fund will be ring-fenced for the use of the Cromarty community in the future.  The idea for this has arisen from the covid 19 pandemic. Any money that is donated to the crisis fund will not be used for current spending and will form the bank account deposit for the new initiative.

QR Code

Since covid 19, the use of cash has decreased, so this year we decided to update all posters and leaflets with a QR code that takes people to the donation link.  This is also displayed on our trikes.  We would like to express our thanks to Caroline Burrows for setting up the QR code for the care project.

Distribution of Major Grant

The largest grant by far that we received came from the Bank of Scotland Foundation, for £8,900.  This has allowed us to achieve a great deal in the community since last October.  We have:

• Subsidised 24 weeks of the Monday Lunch Club, so people only had to pay £3 for lunch.
• Funded an intergenerational Summer Café at Cromarty Primary School.
• Funded new equipment for the Babies and Toddlers Playgroup, as well as fun sessions throughout the year.
• Provided a gazebo for community use.
• Funded a new Larder cupboard, which was custom-built for us by the Black Isle Men’s Shed.
• Funded Cromarty Nursery’s graduation celebration.
• Provided floral tubs at Townlands sheltered housing, to go with the “Chairs for Chats” Bench we provided last year.  The after-school gardening club planted them up for us!
• Sponsored Citizens Advice sessions at the Victoria Hall.
• Held our Tenth Anniversary Celebration.

One of the highlights of this year must be the delivery of daffodils to every household in Cromarty.  This was done in collaboration with the Youth Café.  It marked 5 years since Covid and reminded us of all that individuals went through and how we responded as a community.

We are currently collaborating with Cromarty Community Development Trust, Cromarty Youth Café, and Cromarty Community Council on the “Cromarty Grows Together” project, to help create a multi-use community garden.

Thanks must go to Alison Seller without her hard work on all the funding applications the care project would not be what we are today. Alison you are the funding application queen and we are all in awe of you!

In conclusion, there have been some good developments this year, with the continuation of our well-established projects and some innovation as well! As we look forward to 2026, we are aware that there is still much to do, especially in trying to soften the cost-of-living increases for many Cromarty households, and in addressing social isolation, particularly among the elderly.  However, we are optimistic that Cromarty Care Project is making a noticeable contribution to the quality of life of many Cromarty residents. We could not achieve anything without the continued commitment of all our Trustees, the support of our volunteers, Friends and donors, and the faith placed in us by our generous funders.

We look forward to another busy year in which we continue to serve the community.