Viktoria Eriksson

While the past week’s snow in Dufftown & District has made it feel very wintry again all of a sudden, Spring is definitely on its way. The days are getting brighter, the snowdrops are out in full bloom and community activity is back in full strength! And there has been no limit to the diversity of events on offer here in Dufftown this March. Let me tell you about a couple of my favourites this month.

Having followed the progress down at the Keith and Dufftown Railway Association over the past year, I was delighted to be invited to the inaugural run of the Dram Tram on March 3rd.  Volunteers have put in hard work to transform this old carriage into a unique whisky-themed train experience – complete with a bar and snug! On the night, supporters and donors were treated to drinks and nibbles on our journey to Drummuir and back. As it was my first time travelling on this train line, I found it amazing to see familiar buildings and sites from a completely new perspective. The Dram Tram will run bespoke events during the Speyside Whisky Festival and you can book your tickets online. You can also hire the train for private events. I have been told it has already been booked for a wedding this summer – what a great idea! I’d like to thank the crew for inviting me to such a special evening and I look forward to being on board soon again.

To balance the extravagant evening on the Dram Tram, I took the opportunity to ground myself with the DDCA spring gardening workshop (pun intended) on March 8th. Our local gardening genius June provided all the participants with two planters each and all the necessary equipment to plant up a beautiful spring display. Since it is a sin to garden without cake, we were lucky enough that the Bread House Dufftown provided us with yummy treats. The planters need to stay covered until all this snow and frost has disappeared but I look forward to seeing them bloom once the Spring temperatures are back.

For the remainder of March, a couple of more fun activities are on offer. On Saturday March 25th, Le Petit Moose is coming all the way from Banchory to teach a needle punch workshop. And on March 31st, Tuminds from Inverness will be going over an Ipad skills refresher with the Aigan Court residents. As for myself, I will take every opportunity to enjoy those rare rays of sunshine!

Hot off the press! Why not have a read of the March newsletter and see how you can get involved in local community action this coming month.

Want to make sure you don’t miss our newsletters? Go to the very bottom of our website to sign up and receive them straight to your inbox!

Hot off the press! Why not have a read of the February newsletter and see how you can get involved in local community action this coming month.

Want to make sure you don’t miss our newsletters? Go to the very bottom of our website to sign up and receive them straight to your inbox!

Join us for the quarterly Dufftown & District community forum on March 1st 2023 6-8pm at the Royal British Legion Hall. 

At the last Community Forum in November 2022, we discussed priorities that groups and individuals would like to work on for 2023. For participants to learn more about current projects taking place, this upcoming meeting is intended for groups to share information about their existing activities and how to get involved. We aspire for the community forum to be a useful platform for each group as they continue to develop their activities. The outcome from the community forum will also help our Community Development Leader to understand how to best support collective plans and projects.

Representatives from all community groups, organisations and individuals in Dufftown & District are encouraged to attend.

An agenda will be sent out to participants before the meeting. Please let us know you’re coming by filling out our online registration form.

 

 

Are you passionate about making a difference in our community? Want to support the work that DDCA does? We are looking for new Trustees to join our Board! 

The DDCA is a Scottish Charity, comprising of members and trustees. The charity was founded in 1995 and has grown to encompass a variety of responsibilities within the area. We seek to advance community development, improve recreational facilities, and relieve poverty in Dufftown & District. 

The Board of Trustees is key to the continued functioning of the charity. Without trustees, we cannot operate. We usually meet monthly to discuss our various projects and activities. Since the pandemic, we have become more flexible and often have hybrid meetings so that trustees can join either online or in-person depending on individual needs and preferences. 

In return for volunteering as a trustee with us, we offer the opportunity to give something back to the community, personal growth, and having a role in shaping our many exciting projects.

Criteria for a Trustee of DDCA: 

• You Live, Work or are passionate about Dufftown and District. 
• You are willing to accept other people’s views and ideas, consider them and constructively debate your point of view.
• You are willing to donate your time to the DDCA while having the commitment to complete actions. 
• You bring energy and ideas to the DDCA and in return the DDCA provides opportunities for personal growth, development and the satisfaction of professional execution of our strategic plans. 
• Desirable skills: Leadership, Influencing, HR skills, IT/Systems, PR/Communications, Knowledge of Charity governance, Strategy Development, Project Management, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion.

Responsibilities of a DDCA trustee:

• Read and follow the DDCA constitution
• Adequately prepare for trustee meetings and regularly attend (Once per month normally).
• Monitor the financial position of the charity and ensure corrective action is taken were appropriate
• Participate in appropriate governance of other risks including following OSCR guidance on safeguarding, prevention of fraud and inclusion leadership.
• Actively participate in DDCA subgroups and monitor the progress of projects.
• Declare any conflict of interest
• Be a role model and ambassador for the DDCA

Does this sound like you? Get in touch today!

Want some more information? Read our recruitment pack.

Dufftown & District Community Association would like to invite all members our Annual General Meeting! 

The meeting will be held on Monday 20th February 7-7.30pm at The Royal British Legion Meeting Room. You can also attend the meeting online. See details at the bottom of this post.

The Board will present the annual report, outlining the past year’s activities. This will include the opportunity to have a look at Clocktower basement drawings, which we have managed to find in the Moray Council archives! Moreover, the AGM is an opportunity for members to have an input into the future direction of the charity. 

As a charity, the DDCA relies on the support of our members. We are grateful for you taking the time to attend the AGM so that we can continue delivering on our various projects aiming to promote Dufftown & District and enhance the quality of life for our residents. 

Not a member yet? It’s easy, you can become one today by applying online.

 

Details for joining the AGM online:

Dufftown Community is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Dufftown Community’s AGM 

Time: Feb 20, 2023 07:00 PM London

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us05web.zoom.us/j/89857195195?pwd=TXYza2NSbFMxQ0pSN3hJZXpRaWNMUT09

Meeting ID: 898 5719 5195

Passcode: 3M2zK0

Hot off the press! Why not have a read of the December newsletter and see how you can get involved in local community action this coming month.

Want to make sure you don’t miss our newsletters? Go to the very bottom of our website to sign up and receive them straight to your inbox!

In November 2022, we organised the second Dufftown & District Community Forum. The aim of the forum was to identify community priorities and discuss next steps. 32 individuals attended the meeting and a diverse range of community groups and other organisations were represented. 

Two members from the youth committee at Speyside Youth took photos and videos of the meeting and made a video about it. It is a fabulous piece of work and it was great to see local youth get involved with the forum. You can watch the video on our Facebook page.

During the first half of the meeting, participants were asked to write down their top priority for Dufftown & District they would like to see people and groups work together on. Below is a word cloud created with all the participants’ priorities. The larger the word, the more frequent it had been written down as a priority. 

In the second part of the meeting, the priorities were divided into 5 themes as outlined in the Dufftown & District Community Action Plan 2021-2026:

1. Environment and Heritage
   2. Community, Youth and Recreation
   3. Local Economy and Tourism
   4. Sustainable & Resilient Community
   5. Access to Services

Everyone was invited to select a topic they were most interested in. Working in groups, participants were asked to discuss the priorities and make a time-line between now and two years from now. 

The Community Forum in November 2022 showed that there is a wealth of ideas among the community on community development in Dufftown and District, as well as an impressive list of projects and services already taking place. This meeting further identified the top priorities and highlighted the collaborative spirit among community groups and residents. 

If you want to read a more in-depth summary of the meeting, you can download the Meeting notes. 

Did you know that individuals and groups in the community can apply for a Dufftown & District microgrant of up to £1000 for charitable activities? 

The microgrant fund is part of the EDF Dorenell Community Benefit Fund as is distributed through Dufftown and District Community Association. Between April 2020 and November 2022, £10,156.15 was awarded through the Dufftown & District microgrant fund to local groups and initiatives. 

Awards made since the beginning of the fund are already having a positive impact through community events, new equipment and sports activities. For example, the Royal British Legion in Dufftown used the microgrant towards the cost of the Queen’s Jubilee Weekend, with live music, food, children’s party and cinema screening all free of charge for the community. Furthermore, Dufftown FC applied for a microgrant to run a children’s football camp in 2022. 20 kids participated over the course of one week. In five days they achieved a combined total of 7080 minutes of activity in glorious weather! Dufftown’s outdoor environment has also benefited from the microgrant fund. Keith and Dufftown Railway Association used the fund to purchase bike stands for their railway station, while Dufftown in Bloom purchased planting materials to keep Dufftown looking bonny in the summer.

You can read more about the Dufftown & District microgrant fund 2020-2022 in our report. 

Do you have an initiative that you would like to make happen? Individuals and groups can apply to the fund by submitting an application form, stating the details and benefit of proposed activity. The application form can be downloaded on our website.

Decisions on grant awards are made by the Dufftown and District Community Association Board of Trustees. There is no set application deadline. Grant applications are reviewed at monthly Board meetings. Get in touch if you have any questions! 

As 2022 is coming to its end, Dufftown and District Community Association would like to wish all residents and friends a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

We would also like to take this opportunity to send out a big thank you to all the wonderful people who have supported and worked with us over the past year. 

First of all, we are grateful for all our members, old and new, who make up our charity. It is thanks to your support that we can keep going. Secondly, we would like to send warm wishes to partner organisations that have worked with us to deliver valuable and exciting activities this year. Third, a big thank you to our donors and funders who have supported us to make things happen, such as the community food larder, Dufftown wellbeing week, eCar hire, community forums and much more. 

Having started my post as Community Development Leader for Dufftown and District Community Association in February 2022, I would like to especially thank all the representatives from local community groups, the DDCA board and the Moray third sector for giving me such a warm welcome over the past year. Getting to know you all has really been the highlight of my job so far. 

Warm wishes to all,

Viktoria