Opening New Horizons: Supporting Young People Through the “On the Water” Project
At the George and Annette Bell Foundation, we believe that every young person deserves the chance to explore new horizons, discover their strengths, and build confidence for the future. This summer, we were proud to sponsor three groups of children aged 9 to 14 to take part in the inspiring “On the Water” project, run by the Sea Cadets at Port Edgar.
This hands-on programme gave young people the chance to experience life on the water; learning sailing, rowing, and paddle sports under the guidance of skilled instructors. But beyond the new maritime skills, the real magic happened in the lessons that can’t always be seen: teamwork, communication, resilience, and the joy that comes from achieving something new. For many, it was a week of firsts — their first time on a boat, their first sense of independence on the water, and their first steps toward new confidence and self-belief.
To ensure these opportunities reached young people who would benefit most, the Foundation was delighted to partner with two exceptional organisations: the Cottage Family Centre in Fife and the Circle Project in Edinburgh.
The Cottage Family Centre supports vulnerable children and families in Kirkcaldy and the surrounding areas, offering therapeutic services, counselling, family support, and childcare. Their work focuses on improving wellbeing, strengthening family relationships, and helping children and parents look toward brighter futures.
The Circle Project provides young people in Edinburgh with safe spaces, mentoring, and opportunities for personal and social development. Their support helps young people build resilience, make positive choices, and find confidence in their own potential.
Through these partnerships, we were able to connect young people from both organisations with an experience that nurtured growth, friendship, and self-esteem in a fun, supportive environment. Some even achieved national qualifications during their time on the water — a wonderful foundation for future learning and opportunity.
The George and Annette Bell Foundation is proud to help open doors for young people to explore, learn, and thrive. Projects like “On the Water” remind us how powerful opportunity can be — and how, with the right support, every child can set sail toward a brighter future.
Empowering Communities: Supporting Flourishing Faifley through Meaningful Giving
The George and Annette Bell Foundation is proud to support Flourishing Faifley, a grassroots community charity making a real difference in one of Scotland’s most deprived areas. Based in Faifley, West Dunbartonshire an area identified by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation as facing significant challenges, this inspiring organisation provides a lifeline to residents through the delivery of free weekly groups, clubs, and events.
At the heart of their work is the Secret Garden, a welcoming space where over 150 people each week take part in activities including arts and crafts, a men’s mental health group, a women’s walking and social club, a parent and toddler group, a book club, and a gardening group. All services are free, ensuring families can attend without added financial pressure.
To support their efforts, the Foundation recently donated 2 x garden gazebos to be used during Flourishing Faifley’s annual free family summer club. Held three times a week during the school holidays, this event welcomed over 1,800 residents last year, offering outdoor sports, wildlife workshops, and creative activities to children and families, all designed to tackle social isolation, promote inclusion, and ease food poverty.
“Flourishing Faifley has given me a reason to get out of the house again. It’s more than just a garden—it’s a place where people care, where you feel part of something,” shared one local resident.
Flourishing Faifley began with a simple idea: to create a space where everyone feels welcome. Thanks to the dedication of its volunteers and support from partners like the George and Annette Bell Foundation, it has grown into a vital part of the community We’re honoured to play a small part in their journey and look forward to seeing the gazebos in action this summer!
The Rangers Charity Foundation
We are delighted that funding from the George and Annette Bell Foundation will enable the Rangers Charity Foundation Saturday Night Youth Hub to continue to provide a vital space for young people in the local community.
The Youth Hub gives local young people a safe place to meet and take part in a range of different activities each Saturday between 6pm and 8pm. This new funding has enabled us to enhance the support by providing hot food to the young people. Participants can simply register on arrival. The space is open to anyone aged 10-18.
The newly refurbished indoor hall and 3G surface at the Ibrox Community Complex provides access to football and indoor sports, supervised by our community coaches. Games consoles are also available as well as a general social space. The project aims to provide young people with a safe, supervised location. We want the young people to be able to take ownership of the youth hub with the support of our staff to come up with their own activities and create a positive environment where they can improve their physical and mental wellbeing as well as building social connections through a range of activities.
According to the Young People – Independent Working Group on Antisocial Behaviour review, which is a Scottish Government Report, antisocial behaviour in Scotland has shown long‑term decline however research emphasises that providing safe, inclusive environments where young people can socialise has been linked to reductions in antisocial incidents.
Foundation Community Programmes Manager, Jordan Boyd, said:
“We’re delighted to have secured funding for this programme to keep it running for another year. It was a successful pilot phase and to be able to sustain the delivery of the Youth Hub and expand to provide food is going to be really important. I’d like to thank The George and Annette Bell Foundation for their support for this project”
Finnbars Force
When Sophie from Finnbars Force told us about their digital library project – providing devices to children and families during hospital stays, we knew we had to help make it happen. Inspired by the legacy of Finnbar, a vibrant five-year-old whose life continues to touch so many, we took on a challenge that combined purpose with a bit of fun.
Our friends at Bell came through with a brilliant fundraiser, the mission: walk 159 miles (virtually) from Norwich to Brandon to Royston to Orpington, connecting Bell’s southern regional branches step by step. And let’s just say, the competitive streak was real! The daily leaderboard kept spirits high and feet moving.
A huge shout out to the champions, Team 4 – Tracy Smith, Amy Jolley, Cheryl Bradbury, Jo Cussens, and Nicole Emans – who were first to complete the challenge! They’ve earned some well-deserved Nando’s vouchers for their speedy efforts (and probably a foot soak too!).
Together, the teams raised an amazing £2,551, with an extra £356.74 from The Bell Foundation, allowing us to donate:
4 x Nintendo Switch Lites (with cases)
4 x Kindle Kids + 4 x Kindle Paperwhites for parents
4 x Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Pro Tablets
14 Nintendo Switch games (MarioKart, Animal Crossing, Minecraft, and more!)
These devices will offer moments of escape, joy, and calm for families navigating some of life’s hardest days. Thank you to everyone who took part, donated, or supported along the way. Every step really did make a difference.
The Cottage Family Centre
The George and Annette Bell Foundation donated a range of outdoor play equipment to the Cottage Family Centre in Fife, a charity established in 1987 who provide a range of support to families and individuals within family units who are vulnerable to social exclusion because of factors such as poverty, unemployment, poor housing, relationship breakdown, drug and alcohol / health related issues.
The Cottage centre provide a range of services including adult group work, family support services and children’s services including a creche for children aged six weeks to five years. The development of the outdoor space which will be used by the creche will support the service in their work with young children to develop their social, emotional, and physiological development through outdoor play.
Ukraine Aid
The George and Annette Bell Foundation were delighted to sponsor Rae Logistics who teamed up with Van-Aid to help support a Humanitarian run across to the border of Poland and Ukraine.
Van-Aid was founded after the terrible events in Ukraine unfolded and it was clear that rapid, targeted aid was needed to support the people living there. Millions have fled and many millions remain, with their infrastructure and supply lines destroyed. Refuges are housed anywhere and everywhere with well over 2.5 million displaced souls now living in Poland. One monastery has received over 1000 women and children.
Van-Aid worked very closely with Polish communities to get the aid where it needed to go. They also arrange with counterparts in Ukraine to come across the border, meet and tranship loads on to their vehicles, to go direct into Ukraine.
The team set off on the 1st of April and had a successful journey, covering well over 2800 Miles – what an amazing thing to do, well done to all involved.
Alliance Homes, Tamar Wellness Centre
We recently completed work on the garden area of Tamar Wellness Centre, a day centre for local people [up to 20 per day in non-covid times] who are diagnosed with Dementia or Alzheimer’s .
The space was in desperate need of a makeover, and we were pleased to help.
The Centre offers a range of social activities and provides unpaid carers with much needed respite from 24/7 caring responsibility.
The regeneration of the raised flower beds has provided space for outside activities and some gardening, a place for patients and carers to engage with each other, create meaningful activities and increase happiness and wellbeing.
The space will be a place to relax and reflect with the benefit of being outside.
