Time running out to raise land cash

Jamie Hepburn MSP, Stuart McDonald MP and Councillor Mark Kerr dropped off a few donations to Kilsyth Community Food Bank in time for the Christmas hampers they are making up.

The charity was founded in 2012, but has since outgrown its Parkfoot Street premises, and had been offered the opportunity to build a purpose-built centre at Burngreen.

Not only will this house the food bank itself, which opens on Mondays and Wednesdays, but also the ARC Project which provides a lifeline through many services for the community.

These include: the CAP Money Course, the Recovery Programme, ARC Men, Family Friday, counselling services and the Poly Tunnel Project.

In addition the Lighthouse Shop can be found in Main Street providing an excellent range of quality clothing and other household items.

To take the project forward the charity needs to raise £60,000 before the end of January, but is still some way shy of this.

Co-founder Lesley Dickinson said: “We currently rent a small unit which is no longer equipped to house the increasing demand for our services and our growing charity.

“There is no running water or inside toilet so we are desperate to raise the funds to buy the land to build a new centre on.

“We have been given an incredible opportunity to have our own purpose-built centre right in the centre of Kilsyth that would house our expanding charity and help provide our services to more people.

“However, time is running out and we are still quite a way short of our fundraising goal so we are asking everyone to get behind us and help us do this for the community we love and serve faithfully.”

You can donate via the fundraising page on The Big Give at https://secure.thebiggive.org.uk/projects/view/28986/project-acorn or at www.kilsythcommunityfoodbank.com/project-acorn.

Anyone looking to organise a fundraiser on the charity’s behalf should call 01236 829872 or email [email protected].