True spirit shines at St Columbkille’s PS
Cambuslang will host the new base for Scotland’s largest provider of community drug and alcohol support.
Addaction Scotland officially launched their South Lanarkshire service for local people affected by the issues in the Training and Enterprise Centre on 1- 15 Main Street.
They are now operating new adult and young people’s services from bases in Cambuslang and Lanark.
Jacqueline Baker, who is the new service’s manager, said: “We’re so happy to bring Addaction Scotland’s treatment and recovery services to South Lanarkshire. We’re already working with lots of adults and young people in the area; some who have been referred by health or social services and some who have self-referred. The progress we’re seeing already is amazing.
“Our staff are dedicated to working with people affected by drug and alcohol misuse - and we all have frontline experience from other towns and cities in Scotland. We’re determined to support people in South Lanarkshire on their personal recovery journeys.”
The official pre-Christmas launch ceremony was attended by Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP Margaret Ferrier. She added: “The work of Addaction really does save lives, and it’s a testament to their hardworking staff that they’ve been chosen to provide services for South Lanarkshire.” Call the group for help on 0141 328 9382.
Kind- hearted youngsters at a Rutherglen primary school showed the true spirit of Christmas over the festive season.
Pupils at St Columbkille’s Primary took part in two initiatives that helped the homeless and those needing food.
They firstly took part in a help the homeless collection, with pupils from P6 and P7 gathering 12 bin bags full of items, including hats, scarves, socks and gloves. They also filled eight boxes with toiletries. Peter Rossi of the St Joseph’s (Milngavie) Homeless Team collected all the items and distributed them among homeless groups, including the Catholic City Mission, the Refugees Community Project, the Glasgow Winter Night Shelter and Bellgrove Hostel for Homeless.
Youngsters then set their sights on helping with the foodbank collection, with each pupil invited to attend school in casual clothes and asked to donate one item for the foodbank.
There was a huge response to this appeal, which went towards the foodbank appeal at St Columbkille’s Parish Church.
Principal teacher Chris Wedlock said: “All the class teachers always speak to the pupils about how the values of Christmas are loving and caring for each other, not just getting things for yourself.
“We make it a point of explaining about things like foodbanks so they know what they can do to help out, and that it is not just a case of bringing in a tin of food and then it goes away.
“We try to explain the reality of what’s going on and the difference they can make, and something like the foodbank collection shows the huge impact it can have. It was part of our Change for Charity programme, and the foodbank were delighted that we could help them.
“With the help the homeless collection, the kids were bringing items of winter clothing in.
Room 13 spoke at both assemblies and gave a presentation about why they were doing this, and how the kids should make a difference, and we’re always very supported by the parents and the pupils when we do things like this. It’s all about the responsible citizen thing we’re trying to push through to the children, especially at a time like Christmas.”