• 07799 405280
  • info@maidsafe.foundation

WE LOVE OUR COMMUNITY

Check out our completed projects

FUNDRAISING

All our charity activities will be better with your donation. Please fundraise for us.

FUND A SCHOLARSHIP

We think that education is best way to help the needy. Your donations can help us do just that.

ABOUT US

We believe in freedom and facilitation for everybody to learn, innovate and contribute their unique talents to make our world a better place.

We will develop free education where people can learn about the things that genuinely excite them at any stage in life.

We will help people set up a new business, social enterprise or any initiative they feel passionate about.

We aim to support learners of all ages to develop their knowledge, skills and abilities in a variety of subjects.

We will work with schools, universities, innovators, artists, businesses but especially those around the globe who could use a helping hand.

In Ayrshire we have a focus on helping to create opportunities for young and disadvantaged people, enabling them to actively use their talents and potential to benefit their communities and society.  With this in mind we have opened our first Centre where the community can make use of our free facilities, breaking down any barriers they have to access our services.

The MaidSafe Foundation will seek to collaborate with others to develop projects for a fairer and more balanced world.

Established at the start of 2011.

Contribute to our charity work with your donations Thanks for your heart ♥

RAISED
0 +
Projects
0 +
Kids Helped
0 +
Volunteers
0 +

Completed Projects

This is a selection of projects that we have completed in conjunction with local schools and community groups.

Barr Primary School

Door Hangings

Check it out

Catrine Primary School

 

Poppy Project

Take a look

Catrine Primary School

Chinese Screens

Watch this one

Ayrshire Women's Hub

and Girvan Academy

Consent Project

You'll like this

East Ayrshire Council

Holiday Clubs

Take a peek

Catrine Primary School

Mackintosh Roses

Amazing!

Struthers Primary School

Electricity and Space

Go on . . .

Ochiltree Primary School

Tartan Printing

Get Started
Help Us

Raise Funds For a Cause That You Care About

Completed Projects

We have been supporting learners of all ages to develop their knowledge, skills and abilities in a variety of subjects since 2011.

01.

Perhaps you are a retired engineer, teacher or have some other skillset which you’d like to offer? If so we would love to hear from you so please get in touch.

02.

100% of all donations and funds raised will go directly to our projects and services as all of our operational and administrative overheads have already been covered by our core supporters.

03.

Any help you feel you can give is hugely appreciated. If you are able to support us in any way or would like more information please get in touch.

Partners and Funders

These are just a few of the organisations we have partnered with or been funded by….

Partner with us…together we can achieve more!

exciting ventures

Our S.T.E.M Centre and Event Trailer

Our S.T.E.M Centre

We are please to introduce our newly opened S.T.E.M Centre at 108 Main Street, Ochiltree. After securing part funding from the 9CCGroup fund we were able to open the Centre in June 2024. Allowing us to have a permanent base to run all our exciting S.T.E.M workshops and Activities, free of charge for the local and wider community. We want everyone no matter what back ground you come from or what age you are to have the facility to learn new skills.

15
14
11 - Copy
10 - Copy
7 - Copy
16
1 - Copy (2) - Copy
3 - Copy - Copy
3 - Copy - Copy
7 - Copy - Copy
PlayPause
previous arrowprevious arrow
next arrownext arrow
Shadow

3D printers

We also have a Makerbot Replicator+ 3D Printer and a selection of PLA filaments. The printer has a maximum print volume of 295x195x165mm and a resolution of 100 microns (0.01mm). You can email or IM us your .stl files to print or we can help design your item for you. Below are some of the items we have designed and printed.
The Elegoo Saturn 2 is among the first wave of a new era in resin 3D printing: no more choosing between build volume or resolution. The Saturn 2, with its 8K screen and formidable 219 x 123 x 250 mm build volume, lets you serve two needs with one deed.

Laser Cutter

We have a 40W Rayjet laser cutter. This can be used to engrave, etch or cut materials in fine detail including wood, plastics, fabrics, leather and it can even etch onto glass, including mirrors, and most metals. Below are just a few examples of the items we have created with the cutter. The maximum size for laser cutting is 305x427mm.

15
15
14
11 - Copy
10 - Copy
7 - Copy
16
3 - Copy - Copy
1 - Copy (2) - Copy
7 - Copy - Copy
PlayPause
previous arrowprevious arrow
next arrownext arrow
Shadow

Our Event Trailer

After receiving part funding from the National Lottery we were able to fabricate the 16ft long box trailer into our Mobile S.T.E.M Centre. After receiving great feedback from our first few events we are able to say we can bring something different to your event. We run activities from making catapults from lollypop sticks to fun chemical experiments to demonstrating our 3d printer and showing people how it works. Giving everyone the ability to learn new skills through fun activities.

OUR BEST

Gallery

Home Educator S.t.e.m Packs

MaidSafe Foundation has designed a range of three packs ( Early, First and Second level) to cover Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths projects for children ages for  4 to 12 years old for home educators.  Each level contains 15 projects along with all the information needed to complete the projects.  Below is the information on the three packages we provide.   Please contact us for more information on the packs and to request a free try before you buy lesson.

Package 1

 a donation of £30.00

Choose one pack from Early, First or Second levels.

You will receive 15 projects.

Includes any project sheets and links needed for the projects.

You will receive all links to additional resources

needed.

We are on hand if you need any assistance

Package  2

a donation of £50.00

Choose two packs from Early, First or Second levels.

You will receive 30 projects.

Includes any project sheets and links needed for the projects.

You will receive all links to additional resources needed.

We are on hand if you need any assistance

Package  3

a donation of £75.00

 

You will receive all three packs Early, First and Second levels.

You will receive 45 projects.

Includes any project sheets and links needed for the projects.

You will receive all links to additional resources needed.

We are on hand if you need any assistance

 

OUR MASTER WORKER​

Margaret

Job Title

Operations Coordinator

Margaret comes from an art and textiles background, with a degree in Textile Design from Glasgow School of Art where she specialised in weaving. She has been with the Foundation since September 2018 and has already completed some successful projects with local primary schools. Pictures can be viewed in the Completed Projects tab. She is also a registered STEM Ambassador meaning that she can be called upon to support Community Groups with Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths projects.
FRASER HUTCHISON, of Blythswood Care, had this to say about her:

“Margaret DONALD of the Maidsafe Foundation knew me as a Director of Maidsafe.  She also was aware of my involvement with Blythswood Care, a long-established Christian charity with a local group of volunteers based in Irvine, known as the Wednesday Packers. Recently, Margaret’s work with the Foundation found her in Barr in the local school organising some of the senior children to produce a delightful series of montages depicting their school and the local area.  Margaret was seeking materials and other items for this event and promptly gained Blythswood Care’s help. Over several weeks Margaret visited the Packers and recovered much of the outstanding requirements for the School event.  Significantly, however, it was not Margaret’s style simply to accept whatever items had been set aside for her use.  Rather, Margaret made herself well known to many of the individual Packers and joined in their work of sorting and sifting through the mounds of donated items. It was this wholehearted and selfless attitude that endeared her to the Packers and allowed them to continue to outsort items for her on the Wednesdays Margaret was unable to join the Packers. Margaret ensured that the Packers saw the end result of the Barr montages by visiting Irvine after the montages and been publicly displayed armed with a splendid selection of pictures of the youngsters’ efforts – and of the proud children. Margaret is a most personable, dedicated and hard-working individual with a very broad remit for the Foundation, working largely on her own initiative.  In sum, Margaret sets the tone of the Foundation – to its great benefit.”

OUR MASTER WORKER​

Heather

Job Title

Funding and Community Engagement officer

Heather comes to us after studying  Biotechnology, Applied Bioscience and Environmental waste Management with the knowledge that she always wanted to inspire more people into the Science industry. She then moved to a position in Catrine where she could work as a energy officer and also complete her masters thesis, this is where she changed from working within the Science industry to a Community development Management gaining a vast amount of experience in all aspects of project management including funding engagement and events. Then she moved to work for a short period of time for EACVO as volunteer manager TSI however unfortunately having to leave due to illness.

In Early 2023, she really got excited by MaidSafe Foundation and wanted to be part of the future progression of the Charity.  In March 2023 she was taken on to raise funds and engage the community.  Heather have vast experience of working with young people and communities, her current role is to source and apply for funding to inspire the next generation with STEM by raising awareness of the many ways in which S.T.E.M can be used for industry, career demands and showcasing real-world examples. As part of her role Heather has been tasked  to create upskilling/reskilling activities for schools and communities to show them that S.T.E.M is much more than a scientist in a white coat.  Heather is also a registered STEM Ambassador.

When asked what Heather likes about her new job she replied:

“Working at the MaidSafe Foundation is in my opinion the best organisation ever, I get to work on a wide and diverse range of projects at the cutting edge of technology. It Is inspirational and innovative working with the team at MaidSafe Foundation in which I get to make a positive impact. Working with Schools, organisations and community members and groups.”

Testimonials

What Our Patrons Say!​

Paula Murphy, Head Teacher at Barr primary (Door Banner Project):
“Working with Margaret, from Maidsafe, has been a complete joy and a tremendous learning experience for our children. From the planning of the project through to completion, Margaret was imaginative, creative and extremely helpful. Our pupils worked with Margaret to develop artwork using locally sourced flora and fauna, developing their knowledge of sustainability and the environment. This fed into our local and national priorities in Developing the Young Workforce, Creativity and Sustainability. I would whole-heartedly recommend working with the Maidsafe Foundation to any other school.”
Judith Govens, Head Teacher at Catrine primary (Poppy, Chinese Dragon and Macintosh Rose Projects)
"We were lucky enough to have Margaret from Maidsafe work with pupils in our school on two occasions. She worked with our P7 pupils to create a WWI Remembrance Banner. Our pupils drew their WWI sketch onto wood, Margaret cut out the sketch and then helped the pupils to screen paint their sketches onto material to form a wonderful Remembrance Banner which was proudly displayed in both our school and in Catrine Parish Church as part of our Remembrance Day events. Margaret also worked with our infant pupils to create Chinese symbols as part of our topic on Chinese New Year. The pupils painted their symbols onto wood, and after cutting out the symbols, Margaret showed them how to paint their symbol onto paper to create a beautiful Chinese New Year display. At all times, Margaret was professional, friendly, approachable and made learning fun for our pupils. The children at Catrine PS loved working with her and her exciting ideas and crafts were always a big hit!"
Pamela Lockie, Ochiltree primary Deputy Headteacher:
“In 2019, all children in Primary 1- 3 from Ochiltree Primary School were involved in an arts and crafts project with Margaret Donald from Maidsafe. The children enjoyed creating, printing and weaving their individually designed tartans as part of their inter-disciplinary learning about Robert Burns. Margaret from Maidsafe was very supportive and worked together with school staff to plan and support the project with her expertise and resources. She was able to teach different techniques to the children. Her enthusiasm and support were invaluable and the children really enjoyed creating their pieces. We would be delighted to work with Margaret and Maidsafe again when current restrictions allow.”
Pamela Lockie
Deputy Headteacher

Get in touch

  • Phone

    01290 430118

  • Email

    info@maidsafe.foundation