3 non-profit organisations: a girls football club, a social enterprise that trains and empowers people affected by homelessness and a historical community project, have been awarded with a funding grant from The Edinburgh Airport Community Board.

The Community Board welcomes all applications relating to one or more of our key themes of education, health and wellbeing, environment and community. March – April is the first of 3 Community Board funding periods in 2016 and 19 groups and organisations have collectively netted £41,000. By the end of the year Edinburgh Airport will have awarded £500,000 in grants to non-profit organisations and charities since the Community Board was set up in 2012.

Successful applicants included; Invisible (Edinburgh), Cramond and Barnton Community Council and Blackburn United Girls. Invisible is a new social enterprise which recently received a grant, working with people who have been affected by homelessness and trains them to become walking tour guides. The funding has enabled website design, attendance of events to promote their tours, pay for training and uniforms.

Zakia Moulaoui, Invisible (Edinburgh) Founder, said: “At Invisible we are so pleased to receive support from Edinburgh Airport. It enables us to launch this exciting project which will empower people by applying their understanding of the city as well as taking greater control of their lives with a strengthened sense of purpose and pride.”

Blackburn United Girls were successful in their application and obtained funding for new kit, training facilities allowing for expansion of the club’s teams.

Lesley Taylor, a Coach who helped set up Blackburn United Girls, said: “Our youngest squad member is 6 years old with girls ranging all the way through to 12. We aim to extend this to have teams at all age groups all the way through to Under 17’s which will enable our Ladies team to continue to thrive. The funds have allowed us to continue to attract new girls to our teams; in training we can now provide new equipment and will this will help us develop a pathway from the Girls to the Ladies game. I encourage other organisations to put forward a submission to the Edinburgh Airport Community Fund – the financial support given is an essential for non-profit making organisations. If you don’t ask….you don’t get!”

Peter Scott, Cramond and Barnton Community Council’s planning representative, said: “Now that we have had the generous support from the Airport’s Community Fund, we can go ahead with the design and development of 3 Cramond Heritage Trail orientation boards. This will help raise awareness and appreciation of Cramond’s rich history; from Mesolithic times, through Roman occupation, and ecclesiastical and early industrial history to important wartime defence roles.”

Gordon Dewar, Edinburgh Airport’s Chief Executive, said: “One of the great satisfactions of running a growing and successful business is being able to give something back to these tremendous projects that improve our communities and enhance the lives of all the people who live in them.”