Who are we?
We’re long-term local residents with wide experience in health and wellbeing on Islay, working together to improve services for our community. As a single-tier organisation, all trustees share responsibility and make decisions collectively.
Pat McGrann
Chairperson & acting treasurer
Chris Abell
Vice Chairperson
Sandy Taylor
Secretary
Gill Chasemore
Trustee
Andrew Burnham
Trustee
Angus MacTaggart
Trustee
Tina Cunningham
Trustee
Christianne Rennie
Trustee
WHAT WE DO
We gather evidence...
We want to help improve services and fill gaps in health and wellbeing services on Islay.
To do this we need to know what services are available on the island, how they are being delivered at the moment and whether they cover the needs of everyone who lives here. We gather evidence and information by surveys, interviews, discussion and written reports.
We share what we find out with the community and with statutory and third sector service providers. By investigating what services are currently being provided, listening to what our community actually needs and sharing our findings we aim to develop projects which are not only needed but make sense for Islay.
We bring together people, organisations and ideas...
Islay is a small community of 3,500 residents scattered across a big, beautiful and rural island. All over Islay the community makes amazing efforts to look after each other, to provide services and to build resilience for the future.
There are well over a hundred community organisations working on many different projects and many residents contribute to multiple causes.
We look for opportunities for individuals and organisations to work
collaboratively on new initiatives and projects. Working together to improve things for the
Supporting new organisations and services...
Setting up a new organisation can be slow and frustrating, taking time and concentration. Becoming a registered charity means defining your aims, developing a detailed constitution, appointing trustees, getting formally
registered with OSCR (the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator), opening a bank account, appointing your officers and working out how the organisation will be run… and while all that’s going on you are not doing what you want to be doing : providing a vital new service or support for those members of the community who really need it.
We provide practical help and support for individuals and groups who want to set up new services and who want to “be doing” while they are developing the back office functions to make their organisation work. We can provide a new start-up with a temporary home and bank account, our enthusiasm, our experience and our support.
We want new organisations to survive, thrive and go on to serve the community as independent charities in their own right.
Advocating for local solutions that make sense for Islay...
Islay is a small community facing particular challenges and opportunities because of its remote and island location. Many health and wellbeing services are planned and delivered on standard models developed for much larger mainland communities and take little account of the specific difficulties which are everyday obstacles on Islay. For island life the one size available does not fit at all and Islay residents can be disadvantaged by assumptions which don’t take account of their unique circumstances.
We look at the way services are being delivered and we ask for changes when Islay residents are disadvantaged because of their rural and island location We look at new services and ask that they are specifically designed to work for and support the Islay community.
We want local solutions that make sense for Islay.