Community organisations across Maryhill and Ruchill are in the money to the tune of almost £20,000 thanks to a Community Fund organised by Maryhill Housing.

The Association has handed out the huge cash windfall to a number of organisations doing good work in their communities following a voting process was held to pick the winners.

Voting took place online as part of an initiative known as ‘Participatory Budgeting’ and, as the name suggests, local people participated in this worthwhile exercise in democracy.

It culminated in an event at Maryhill Burgh Halls called ‘Digi All Decide’ when people were also given the opportunity to vote in person leading to the winners being announced.

The money came from Maryhill Housing’s Community Fund – a sizeable pot of money set up to boost community projects and reinforcing Maryhill Housing’s long-standing commitment to inspiring and helping those communities where tenants live.

Jubilant scenes greeted each declaration of the vote at the Burgh Halls. The winners celebrated topping the poll with clapping and cheering.

Interestingly, those attending the Burgh Halls voted electronically using handsets where they ranked their favourite submissions 1–5 with 5 being the highest score.

This is in keeping with the drive to deliver digital skills which housing associations are increasingly keen to embrace.

The list of winners included Riding for the Disabled, a youth club, the Boys’ Brigade, local schools and a community festival. The amounts won ranged from £1,200 to £2,000.

Ruth Adam, community regeneration manager at Maryhill Housing, said: “The Participatory Budgeting initiative gave power to local people in choosing where money provided by the housing association should be spent in their communities.

“This is the second year it has been done and, like last year, proved an engaging and popular exercise in local democracy with significant cash injections for local projects.

“The introduction of electronic and online voting ensured there was a strong digital component to the exercise.”

Maryhill Housing has pledged to work with those organisations who applied for money but were unsuccessful in the vote to access other funding opportunities.