Just how do you capture the ten-year history and list all the achievements of Granton Youth Centre in just an hour? That was the tough task set for organisers of the local youth centre’s tenth birthday celebration last Friday – but they passed the test with flying colours. And one young lad managed it in three simple words!
Granton Youth Centre’s special anniversary was marked by a civic reception, requested by Forth councillor Vicki Redpath and hosted at the City Chambers by Lord Provost Cllr Donald Wilson on 23 November.
The Lord Provost congratulated GYC on reaching a significant milestone and said: “As a teacher of thirty years experience I can say that nothing is more important than raising young peoples’ aspirations and self-esteem. It’s vital, and Granton Youth Centre has been delivering this service in an area of high deprivation for ten years – that is a great achievement. Many congratulations, and I’m delighted to welcome you all here today.”
GYC’s chairperson Liz Hair has been with the organisation since the beginning and she was the ideal person to talk about the Centre’s memorable events, progress and achievements – the drama productions, street work, volunteer training and employment support initiatives, the outreach work and counselling services … a programme that continues to offer a wealth of activities and opportunities for young people in North Edinburgh.
Liz also made a surprise presentation to former manager Vicki Ridley, who moved on to pastures new after a very successful ten year career in Granton.
Who better to summarise what GYC means to them than the young people who use the service themselves? Paul Carnie – a young person first attended the centre as a callow youth (!) before moving on to become a volunteer youth worker and then a member of staff – made a short documentary about the Centre, talking to staff, supporters, partners of the organisation and of course the Centre’s young people to neatly capture the essence of what GYC is all about.
Gavin Crosby, Youth Work Strategy Implementation Manager, presented awards to GYC’s successful INIT8 youth work course participants and encouraged more people to get involved in the rewarding world of youth work, and Superintendent David Carradice of Lothian and Borders Police spoke of this pleasure at attending the reception. “The police must be part of the community and so part of the everyday life of centres like Granton, so I am chuffed to bits to be here. I’m also delighted to see our local community beat officers here today too. Working with children and young people is crucially important to our communities – it can help children change their lives and move forward, so we want both to thank you and support you in the work you do.”
Perhaps the longest remembered words, though, came from young Jake in the documentary. Asked to sum up Granton Youth Centre in three words there was a long pause then … ‘an … amazing, minted, place!’
And that’s it in a nutshell, really – three words to sum up ten successful years!
Congratulations and happy birthday to all at Granton Youth Centre
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