Five-year milestone reached for Celebrating Renfrewshire Fund

The Celebrating Renfrewshire Fund has celebrated a milestone birthday, marking five years of supporting youth projects across Renfrewshire.

Launched in 2019, Celebrating Renfrewshire empowers young people to make decisions that will benefit and enhance their local communities.

Over the last five years, Celebrating Renfrewshire has supported 417 projects from 133 groups, totalling over £890,000 spent on projects for young people across Renfrewshire. Projects include access to industry standard music or filming equipment, training kits and team clothes, alcohol and drugs awareness training and free sports and day trips.

Local groups who have received funding over the years came together in an event at Paisley’s Bield Activity Centre to mark the milestone and celebrate the achievements of young people.

Glenvale AFC received funding from Celebrating Renfrewshire in 2024 to run accredited awareness training in the dangers of drugs, alcohol and gambling for their senior members. Mary Cumming, Child Protection Officer at the club said: “The training was vital for the mental health and wellbeing of our players and helped boost the ethos of the club that fresh air, exercise and teamwork is the best thing to help lead a fulfilled life.

“Over 50 young people benefited directly, with even more throughout the club benefiting from the training and knowledge being passed down from player to player. We’re so grateful to Celebrating Renfrewshire for the support we’ve received.”

The fund is facilitated by Renfrewshire Council’s Community Planning and Community Learning and Development teams who support a steering group of young people. The group represent the voices of young people across Renfrewshire and provide an essential role in shaping the guidance for the fund each year.

The steering group is open to any young people aged 12-25 who live in Renfrewshire and meets once a week from March until June.

Councillor Bruce MacFarlane, Renfrewshire’s Young Persons Champion said: “Celebrating Renfrewshire offers local young people a real chance to choose what they think is most needed and to make a positive difference to their own, and their friends, lives.

“Young people are at the heart of this process, and I’d love to see more local young people take up the opportunity to be a part of the Steering Group. It’s a unique opportunity to develop your skills, enhance your CV, and meet new people from across Renfrewshire.”

Applications to join the Steering Group for 2025 are now open and interested young people are invited to attend an information session on Wednesday 5 March at Southend Action Centre, Stock Street, Paisley from 4.30pm – 6pm.

Visit www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/celebratingrenfrewshire or get in touch with the team at celebratingren@renfrewshire.gov.uk for more information.