Community Fund makes a splash on Coll

Every school age child on the island of Coll has improved their swimming ability thanks to CalMac's Community Fund.

The Fund enabled all eight of Arinagour Primary School's roll to take a trip for swimming lessons to the Atlantis Leisure Centre in Oban. 

'The main focus of this trip was to improve the quality of the children's swimming ability as well as to increase their confidence in the water,' said Chloe Fraser Steele from the school's Parent Council who organised the trip. 

Each day the children had an hour of swim coaching delivered by Centre staff instructors. 

Picture shows: The group of Coll pupils improve their swimming technique at the Atlantis Leisure Centre in Oban.

'As a result of the lessons all the children feel more confident when they are in the water at home on Coll. This confidence is a real benefit during watersports,' said Chloe.

Last year CalMac's Community Fund was designed to create new opportunities for young people by supporting non-profit youth organisations based in a mainland port or island the company serves. Organisations applied for an award between £500 to £2000. 

So far the Fund has supported 76 projects from woman's football in the Outer Hebrides, to the Campbeltown Sea Cadets and a Gaelic youth club on Skye. 

Each application was judged by a screening panel of young people recruited from across the company's network, in partnership with Young Scot. 

'A key part of the Community Fund's aims is to open up opportunities for island young people that they would otherwise not have access to. Clearly learning to swim from qualified instructors in a safe environment is not something that can be done on Coll. So, we were delighted to be able to help build this valuable life skill among the island's young people,' said CalMac's Corporate Social Responsibility manager, Gordon McKillop.