Behind the blue door
Logos provides a one-stop shop for young people
An unassuming blue door almost hidden on Crieff’s High Street belies the busy hive of activity that goes on behind it.
Stepping inside Logos is like stepping into a TARDIS.
It is a vibrant hub for young people offering various club nights, award programmes, trips and activities.
Logos also runs practical projects to build skills, such as creating items from old pallets to sell, or cookery courses.
It costs in the region of £ 60,000 a year to run Logos and, as reported in last week’s Herald, the charity has just received an award from the Big Lottery Fund of almost £50,000, which will be split over two years to help towards operating around 14 different schemes that youngsters can get involved in to better themselves.
These include the Duke of Edinburgh awards, the Saltire Awards, the LINC course for school leavers and Dynamic Youth in conjunction with Perth and Kinross Council.
Manager Robert McDonald said the grant was fantastic news and would cover a third of the facility’s running costs for a year.
He added: “We raise a third ourselves and the rest comes from other funders.”
One of Logos’ most valuable arms is the LINC programme, described as a “one-stop shop for young people”.
The original LINC stood for Linking Into New Careers and supports young people aged from 16 to 19 to make a move into work, further education or training by offering advice and encouragement to take the next steps, whether that’s by building a CV, helping with confidence and self- esteem or finding work placements.
But Logos has now expanded on that, linking into new careers, new challenges and choices as well.
Robert explained: “Our new programme, the LINC Pathway, incorporates young people from 11 years to 25 in different categories.
“They start coming up in Primary 7 to find out what is going on at Logos. They come up in their lunch hour from school and can play on the Wii or at the DJ booth. It’s a safe haven for them. We believe Logos is a stepping stone.
“Caroline Murphy is the Next Step coach and we feel we have a good programme now, providing support for all the different age groups with different programmes to suit each.”
“The ethos from when Logos first started 28 years ago when Barry Barratt set it up – to help young people emotionally, physically and spiritually – has not changed; we have just grown and now have a good structure in place to provide this.”
Graham Donaldson, chairman of Logos Youth Project added: “Barry Barrett, the founder of Logos had one objective – to give the young people of Crieff and Strathearn a sense of pride and purpose.
“He was determined that every young person should be given the opportunity to fulfil their full potential.
“This we seek to do by offering guidance, challenge and support in a non-threatening Christian environment.”
And praise was received for the charity from local politicians this week.
Ochil and South Perthshire MP Tasmina Ahmed- Sheikh, who has visited the High Street hub, welcomed the announcement of funding.
She said: “I know from my previous meetings with them, that Logos does a fantastic job supporting children and young people in Crieff and so I am delighted that this has been recognised by this Young Start award.
“The ‘one-stop shop’ will be a valuable resource for young people in Crieff and I look forward to being able to see this in action in the weeks and months to come.”
Perthshire South and Kinrossshire MSP Roseanna Cunningham commented: “This is fantastic news. The Logos Centre already does a power of work with young people in Crieff and this substantial sum of money will really help them in that work.
“I understand that the funding will be used to set up a ‘one-stop shop’ for children and young people by providing holistic advice and support in their local community and that 50 children and young people living across the Crieff, Strathearn, and wider Perth and Kinross area will benefit from this two year project.
“I know that everyone involved with Logos will be delighted and that the money will be put to very good use indeed. Many congratulations to all involved!” See the centre pages for more pictures of Logos’ activities.
Logos does a fantastic job supporting children and young people in Crieff Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh