As the year ends, we’d like to reflect on the past 12 months, celebrate successes and give thanks to those who have continued to support our organisation.  

In 2023 we consolidated our services, bringing the Training Academy and our youth development delivery into our Dumbarton base. Having all our services in the one location alongside the Common Good Cafe has improved accessibility for the young people who we support and further strengthened our team morale.  

Primary Project

We have continued to provide high quality programmes across West Dunbartonshire in both Primary and High schools.  This year we have supported over 700 young people and 40 family groups to develop new skills and learning, improve wellbeing and increase confidence. Our tailored programmes have supported young people to gain new skills for life, learning and work and we have increased environmental knowledge through our RSPB and John Muir Programmes – helping young people have fun in the outdoors while learning to take pride and preserve their local wild areas.

We are extremely proud of the impact we have brought to the lives of the young people we have supported in 2023 and we’ve had some lovely feedback from school staff and parents, detailed below: 

“L’s confidence has burst so much! Their knowledge and understanding of nature is crazy! Thank you for building her for future adventures.” 

“I think it has helped J so much, with his behaviour and attitude. Thank you!” 

Training Academy

2023 has been another successful year in delivering support to young people aged 14-25. Over the past 12 months we have provided tailored, wraparound support to over 200 young people. Our support has been shaped by their needs and guided by the goals and outcomes they want to achieve. To date we have supported 150 young people to achieve a positive destination, these include re-engaging with education, moving on to college, securing employment and progressing into further training. We always want to help young people to achieve a progression that is the right one for them and help them build the capacity to sustain their positive choices.  

As an accredited REHIS (The Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland) delivery centre, we have provided opportunities for young people and the wider community to access quality training and achieve a vocational qualification to help them progress into employment. In 2023 we delivered 130 REHIS qualifications and will continue to develop our qualifications centre in 2024. 

Social Enterprises

We are extremely grateful for our ongoing partnership with BOOHOO as their support and monthly donations have enabled our Social Enterprise Fashion Fix to hold regular ‘pop up sales’ from our Dumbarton Offices. The pop-up sales offer our customers the chance to pick up a bargain with most items priced between £2-£10 and importantly the money generated from the sales is reinvested into supporting local young people. 

Our Social Enterprise Cafe and training kitchen, ‘The Common Good’, has continued to grow in 2023. Over the 12 months, 80 young people completed a work placement in the kitchen – developing new skills and confidence in a supported work environment. The Common Good kitchen was upgraded this year with commercial appliances thanks to West Dunbartonshire Council’s Cost of Living Capital Fund. This has increased our productivity and our capacity to explore other avenues of income, such as catering services for businesses and local events and the launch of our evening take-away service - ‘Friday Night’s at The Common Good’.

Our Friday night service piloted over November and December and will be launched fully in 2024.  Feedback from customers has been extremely positive:  

“Another awesome takeaway. The parmesan and garlic fries are just amazing. Huge portions!” 

“That was absolutely brilliant, best enchilada we’ve had in a good while! Coleslaw should be sold in bulk! Thanks again” 

Partnership Working & Funding

We have formed a strong partnership with West Dunbartonshire Council and particularly the Working 4U team. This year we were funded to deliver support as part of the council’s No One Left Behind programme alongside other partners in the employability pipeline. This funding has enabled Tullochan to continue offering tailored employability support to young people aged 16-25 and also increase the scope of our reach to include those aged 25 and over. 

Like many in the third sector, we found that funding has become increasingly difficult to secure in the current economic climate. Alongside the funding from West Dunbartonshire council, we have been fortunate to receive ongoing funding support from Inspring Scotland’s Our Future Now Fund, The National Lottery Improving Lives Fund, The Robertson Trust, Garfield Weston, The Gannochy Trust, Agnes Hunter Trust, The Bairdwatson Trust, Barratt Homes and the Jeffrey Charitable Trust Without their assistance, Tullochan would not be able to provide the support needed within West Dunbartonshire.

Tullochan continues to collaborate with as many local agencies as possible, such as Tell Training, Skills Development Scotland, Job Centre Plus and West Dunbartonshire Council. We received funding from The National Lottery Community fund to create a warm space for those in the local area who might need some extra support during the winter months. This has developed over the course of the year and in conjunction with West Dunbartonshire Council’s No One Left Behind delivery, includes sessions for local people aged over 25 who can benefit employability support, access to technology or something hot to eat.  

This year we were also delighted to be selected as part of JPMorgan and Chase’s ‘Force for Good’ programme. We worked alongside Tech professionals who provided their time and expertise to help us to create a new Tullochan website. In the past 12 months we have continued to make new partnerships in the local area - working with Alternatives to undertake a gardening programme at Knowetop, building positive relationships with Barratt Homes, ASDA, No Limits Brewing, Ginger Breadman Café, and Broomhill FC. 

Chief Executive Comments

Richie Gallacher, Chief Executive: I am extremely proud of Tullochan’s achievements in 2023. Our dedicated Training Academy, Social Enterprise and Head Office team have worked tirelessly through the year to support young people and their families across West Dunbartonshire and Argyll and Bute. We are honoured to have played such an important role in helping so many young people develop new skills, gain qualifications, and build the confidence to progress positively.  

Over the year, our Social Enterprise ‘The Common Good’ provided invaluable support for young people undertaking work placements and the cafe has continued to grow commercially with an exciting new evening takeaway service. I’d like to thank all the customers from our Social Enterprise - The Common Good, Fashion Fix and Tullochan Designs - their custom allows us to continue supporting local young people. 

Our service delivery over the past 12 months has been set against the backdrop of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. Despite these challenges, we leave the year in a strong position in terms of funding and delivery outcomes and as we move into 2024, we will continue to build on this and offer positive pathways for the young people and wider community of West Dunbartonshire.

So, as 2023 ends, we’d like to extend our thanks to all who have helped support Tullochan this year, to those who have given up their time to help with a project, to the staff who deliver our programmes daily and to our donors, without your support we would not be able to help those in the community who need it most.  

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.