This year the party in Broomhouse will celebrate funding of £500,000 received from Foundation Scotland to develop the Broomhouse Hub.
The Hub has delivered many transformative opportunities for the local people of Broomhouse, Parkhead and Sighthill for three decades. The charity offers training, volunteering and employment opportunities for people affected by poverty. There is also counselling, befriending, community food initiatives including school holiday support, social groups for isolated older people and classes to support mental health and wellbeing.
Following Covid Space @ The Broomhouse Hub helps people with the challenges of an increased cost of living which affects people locally more than most. This is one of the most deprived areas of Edinburgh and Space @The Broomhouse Hub has a community café where young carers and children can have a free meal throughout the summer holidays. No registration or purchase is required making this a more dignified way of accessing food.
The charity now employs three times as many staff as it did only a few years ago and doubled the reach of their vital support services post-pandemic.
The funding from Foundation Scotland has been pivotal in this development.The Foundation Scotland social investment relationship with Space @ Broomhouse began in 2018. The two organisations had already worked together on several grant awards, but with growing demand for their services and an ambitious strategy in place, the team at Space turned to Foundation Scotland for expert advice and growth funding.
The social investment support offered by Foundation Scotland is a unique form of blended grant and loan, designed to help organisations to open doors and grow effectively. Over the past 11 years, they have invested over £12.5 million in 72 organisations around Scotland.
Neil Hay, CEO of Space @ The Broomhouse Hub said: “Support for capital projects, and core funding, is critical to our work, yet unfortunately not so prevalent. As an organisation, we believe in connections and working together for the benefit of all. The partnership approach from Foundation Scotland has been so refreshing. Both the funding and relational support allowed us to get the build off the ground.
“Together they helped us to realise our vision, and along with our other funders they have enabled us to develop our spaces, grow our team and ultimately helped us to build the foundations for a brighter future for many.
Ali Kennedy, Social Investment Executive at Foundation Scotland, said: “Space @ Broomhouse is an important and inspiring place for everyone in the local community and we are extremely proud of our involvement in its development.
“Their fabulous new facilities support significant numbers of people in the area, families have an affordable safe and welcoming place to come to and enjoy, young people are provided with opportunities to develop skills, confidence and self-esteem, and older people and those living with dementia feel part of a connected community.
“We are thrilled to be here with the team today at the Broomhouse Street Party. We’ve worked together for many years and it’s great to get the chance to see the activities in action. The Hub is a space for the community to come together. It’s clear how much of a lifeline these services are for local people.
“We know there are other groups that urgently need support to get started or grow, and this is even more challenging in the current climate. We are encouraging all interested groups to visit our website or contact the Foundation Scotland team directly to discuss eligibility.”
The Broomhouse Street Party is an annual event and on Thursday 10 August it is back bigger and better than ever before with free activities, food, stalls and events for all generations.
Taking place throughout the indoor and outdoor areas of the Broomhouse Hub, organisers will close off the road with celebrations spilling over to the St David’s church grounds.
Free food will be available all day, including firm summer favourites like burgers and hot dogs and our Outta Space Pizza team will have two stands set up dishing up tasty pizzas as well on both sites. Everyone will be given food vouchers to redeem on entry to the Street Party, with ice cream vouchers available for children.
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