Achi news desk-
Named after a much-missed local campaigner who died in 2022, the Cathy McCormack Community Activist Fund will take profits from energy generated by solar panels and fund community organisations.
The £10,000 pot has been generated over the past three years by the co-operative, which has solar panels installed on the roofs of two schools in Greater Easterhouse and Pollokshields, which supplies Glasgow City Council with green electricity .
Gary McCormack, Mrs McCormack’s son, said: “We are delighted and honored – as would mum.
“In the last years of her life, she found so much joy in seeing the next generation of community activists fighting for social, economic and environmental justice in Glasgow and across the world.
“We hope that this new fund will inspire and support more local people to get involved.”
Organizers said they hope the grant scheme will ensure Cathy McCormack’s legacy continues in the city where she was a well-known community activist and anti-poverty campaigner.
From Easterhouse, she was known for campaigning against damp housing conditions in council-owned schemes and for making the links between these local social injustices and the global climate crisis.
In the early 1990s he helped secure funding for an innovative solar heating project on the Easthall housing scheme, the first of its kind in the world.
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During the first five years, Cathy McCormack Community Activism Fund grants will be awarded to community organizations close to both schools.
These include Pollokshields Trust, St Paul’s Youth Forum, Connect Community Trust, East End Flat Pack Meals and Fuse Youth Cafe.
These organizations will be encouraged to use funds for projects or activities inspired by Cathy’s radical spirit, with the aim of tackling the root causes of poverty, not just the symptoms.
Neil Young said at the St Paul’s Youth Forum: “We are privileged to be one of the first recipients of the Cathy McCormack Community Activism Fund grants.
“Cathy was an inspiration to many at SPYF as a local person who stood up against political forces to ensure justice for all.
“We strongly believe in the power of local people coming together to make a difference.”
“This grant will enable people suffering from depression and other mental health problems to tackle food poverty and the climate crisis by growing together on our new community farm.
“We will tackle the challenges of our time by building strength and resilience.”
He added that the grant will be used towards a social area in the farm where people can sit and socialize but also a decorative area for quiet reflection and some pollinator friendly plants.
Mr Young added: “We are delighted to be able to support so much of Cathy’s passion with this funding.”
From 2027 onwards, the aim is to open up the grant scheme across Glasgow to give others the chance to apply.
With Glasgow Community Energy’s plans to expand, developing new renewable energy sites across the city over the next few years, the hope is to create a much larger funding pot with the possibility of introducing more radical change across the city.
Fatima Uygun, a volunteer with The Pollokshields Trust, said: “We are honored to have received the Cathy McCormack Community Activism Fund.
“The grant will be used in Cathy’s spirit to improve green spaces for our community to ensure they are accessible and inclusive for everyone. Glasgow Community Energy is an amazing project which has brought huge benefits to communities across Glasgow and we are delighted to be involved.”
Glasgow Community Energy co-operative was founded by local people on a largely voluntary basis and as a result of offering community shares in 2021, it now has 182 members across Glasgow and beyond.
