AN award-wining charity which helps people with additional support needs has embarked on an ambitious volunteer drive in Barrhead.

Include Me 2 Club is holding a recruitment open evening tomorrow in the Barrhead Foundry and is inviting all interested people to go along and find out more.

The charity runs weekly kids’ clubs, youth groups, adult social clubs, monthly club nights and weekly special interest groups. 

A post on its Facebook page states: “Include Me 2 Club are looking for amazing people to join our team.

“If you have an interest in working within our communities with children, young people or adults with an additional support needs or disability then we would love to hear from you.”

Chairperson Paul McIlvenny said: “We regularly get volunteer requests and enquiries and decided to do recruitment in a different way and be a bit more savvy as capacity to go through the process individually takes a lot of time. 

“So we have invited those interested in volunteering with us to come together to learn more about the organisation, speak with current volunteers, see the range of opportunities we can provide and get involved in the way they want to.”

In a major development for the organisation last year, it reached a five-year agreement with East Renfrewshire Council to lease the James McGuire Building in Barrhead, a 119-year-old town hall and police station, for £1 a year.

The building had lain vacant since 2015, having previously housed the council’s employability services, and it became available when the authority disposed of several publicly-owned buildings.

Ashley McIlvenny, who co-founded the charity with husband Paul 10 years ago, said restoration work upstairs in the building, was 90 per cent finished and good progress was being made downstairs.

She added: “We are looking for more people to get involved so that we can offer more services to people.”

The charity, which holds the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, has projects in Barrhead, Neilston, Thornliebank and Dennistoun.

The volunteer recruitment open evening is taking place in the Hayes Suite of the Barrhead Foundry from 6pm to 9pm. 

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