Hat-trick of grants secures TD1 Youth Hub's future

TD1 Youth Hub has been given three different grants totalling almost £100,000 – enough to secure its future for afurther three years.

The Ladhope Vale youth work charity, has been given £9,600 by the National Lottery’s Awards for All initiative, almost the same again by Creative Scotland and a further £80,000 by Children in Need.

The £9,600 lottery grant will fund a refurbishment of the building, while Creative Scotland’s cash will allow the charity to expand its free weekly music tuition.

The five-figure Children in Need funding will secure TD1’s long-term future.

“All three grants were confirmed in the same week, so that certainly put a smile on my face,” TD1 manager Douglas Ormiston said.

“The Children in Need grant covers our staffing costs for the next three years, so this gives us a lot of security.

“When we first started five years ago, the building got a bit of a paint job and that was about it.

“A lot of the existing furniture we had to beg, borrow and steal over the years, and we currently have a very unique three-legged sofa, so we’re looking forward to replacing that!”

“Generally, we’ll be using the Awards for All grant to tidy the whole building up so that it’s a more welcoming environment for the young people of Gala.

“Some money will also go on special trips we have lined up to celebrate our fifth anniversary this year.

“The Creative Scotland grant will fund our music project for another 12 months, and we’ll be able to expand it a bit.”

Last year alone, TD1’s 12 full-time and part-time staff worked with more than 270 youngsters through drop-ins and one-to-one support work.

Douglas added: “We are busier than ever, and when you are a charity like ours, grants are invaluable for us to provide a service like this that is totally free to everyone.”

Awards for All also granted Kelso Community Sports Hub £3,772 to buy sports equipment for use by 12 local clubs.