Scourie group wins award for meeting needs of the commuity
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Scourie Community Development Company (SCDC) has won the Working with Communities category of the Helping It Happen Awards 2021.
Development manager Helen Houston said that everyone involved with the organisation was delighted by the accolade.
Now in its fifth year, the awards are managed by rural business organisation Scottish Land & Estates and are sponsored by GLM.
They are given in recognition of the role estates, rural businesses and community groups play in helping rural Scotland survive.
This year there were 10 award categories including a new Business Resilience Award.
SCDC beat strong opposition in its class to the top spot.
The winners were announced in an online ceremony last Wednesday and the development company is one of four Highland winners.
Judges said that the organisation was a “great example of a small, isolated community pulling together to ensure the long term needs of the community and the local shop were met”.
SCDC has delivered a number of projects in the area including the erection of a sports pavilion used by shinty and football teams and for the summer gala. The local primary school also uses it.
It has been instrumental in the upgrading of a number of paths in the extensive local network as well as improvement work at the pier.
Before Covid-19, the group was focusing its efforts on the provision of an ambitious new visitor attraction, Scourie Rocks.
However since March 2020 it concentrated on ensuring that everyone in the community was supported during the pandemic.
A food larder was established, access to mental health support provided and funding sought for fuel, food and white goods and other items that families would normally have been able to buy but could not due so due to a reduction in income.
SCDC also provided seasonal treats, such as a three course Christmas lunch for all 78 pensioners in its area and Easter and Christmas goody boxes for all the children.
