AROUND 65 people packed into the Waverley Chambers at Galashiels Transport Interchange last month, to celebrate the work of the TD1 Youth Hub.

Among the guests were elected members, council officials, parents, Galashiels Academy and community members, all wanting to hear about what work the organisation has been up to throughout the last year.

The Youth Hub works with people aged 11 to 19 and offers support, guidance and opportunities to young people.

Douglas Ormston of the group explained told us: “Guests were the first to view a short film made by young people from #BYG. This group is a joint project between TD1 Youth Hub and Borders Additional Needs Group (Bang) where, for six weeks, young people with additional needs or who are young carers learned the valuable skills of working together to draft, film and edit the short film Zombie Annie.

“Next up was some entertainment by Amplify Music Group, where a group of young people who take part in the weekly music sessions played and guests were given song sheets and encouraged to take part in the singing!

“Youth Scotland Chief Executive Ian McLaughlin was the guest speaker for the evening and he highlighted the very positive annual report and praised TD1 Youth Hub for showing innovative work.”

Special guests also included the Green Watch from Galashiels Fire Station, attended along with Station Commander Stephen Mitchell.

Douglas added: “One of the young people, who has since been taken on by the SFRS in a formal mentoring role, then presented the crew of Green Watch with a certificate on behalf of TD1 Youth Hub and Scottish Borders Council CLD Team for their work with young people.

“Seven young people were also awarded Saltire Awards, which is the national award for recognising volunteering hours throughout the year. Ian McLaughlin presented them their certificates, which came to a total of over 700 hours’ volunteering time.”

Last year TD1 Youth Hub worked with more than 260 young people from Galashiels and the surrounding area, offering a range of youth work opportunities, a one-to-one support service and a range of projects.

This work was supported through grants from organisations including Scottish Borders Council, The Robertson Trust, BBC Children in Need, Comic Relief and The Health Lottery amongst others.