California Community Hub has provided an update on their meeting with the local community and Falkirk Council on starting a youth club in their building.

It has been decided that the youth club will be for all primary school aged children, and will take place on Thursday nights, 6:30pm – 8pm.

The group has been approved for a start-up grant of £750 from Youth Scotland, which will cover membership fees, insurance, and some additional costs associated with starting the group. Falkirk Council has also agreed to supply a paid member of staff for the club.

The group is now looking for people interested in volunteering with the youth club, including local parents and teenagers; those interested should contact the Hub via their Facebook page with their name, contact number, and a time that would suit them to visit the Hub and present their ID.

Once IDs have been confirmed, the Hub will begin the process of applying to the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme – each certification takes around 6 weeks to arrive.

Once the PVG applications have been submitted, training will begin, including: child protection, games training, and basic youth club training. All training and PVGs will be paid for by Falkirk Council.

Volunteers will then need to decide what kind of equipment the youth group will need – suggestions already include cooking, baking, and arts and crafts equipment and supplies.

The aim is to develop a rota system of volunteers, so that no one is required to help out every week (though of course are welcome to if it suits them). People do not need to have children attending the youth club to get involved.

To get involved, or for further information, please visit the California Community Hub Facebook post.