A housebuilder has donated £1800 in support of East Kilbride charity Waist Not Want Not's Community Fund initiative which aims to bring people together and reduce waste.

Miller Homes’ Community Fund, now in its second year and fourth round of funding, invites applications for funding from charities and community groups across the country.

To date, it has supported almost 100 local groups near its developments in Scotland, with over £63,000 donated to worthy causes across the country.

East Kilbride Community Fund winner, Waist Not Want Not, has been operating for five years, encouraging families to recycle and reuse where possible with the aim of saving money and improving social isolation, mental health and overall wellbeing by encouraging users to come together at the community shop.

The shop provides a clothing swap shop, which is used regularly by almost 700 members of the East Kilbride community and, in the last year alone, has saved 10 tonnes of clothing from landfill.

In addition to the shop, Waist Not Want Not provides free group workshops, including yoga and tai chi. There are also craft classes where people can learn to sew and upcycle old items of clothing to give them a new lease of life.

Miller Homes’ donation will go towards funding new creative wellbeing workshops for members of the community and the ongoing maintenance of the running existing workshops.

Jan Thomson, chairperson of Waist Not Want Not, said: “This money will contribute to our room hire costs and facilitator fees, enabling us to continue running groups and workshops for members of our community. Due to the cost of living and other factors, many people are becoming socially isolated, and being able to fund groups and workshops gives everyone the opportunity to be involved in an activity, socialise, and build confidence.

“Without the support from our funders and initiatives such as the Miller Homes’ Community Fund, this wouldn’t be possible. On behalf of everyone at Waist Not Want Not, our members, customers and service users, we would like to say a huge thank you for your generosity.”

Andrew McArthur, Regional Operations Director for Miller Homes Scotland West, said: “We’re pleased to be able to support causes which are so close to the communities we’re building in, and the Community Fund has become an important part of what we do here at Miller Homes.

“Waist Not Want Not in East Kilbride is making a huge difference to those in the community, and we are excited to see the impact of the new wellbeing workshops that will be rolled out in the coming months.”