ORGANISERS at Helensburgh’s newest youth club say they are “buzzing” to get under way as they prepare to welcome their first members this week.

Team leader James Bendoris is running the project, which will be based at the revamped Community Hub in East Princes Street, with partner Jamie Bakhsh after the pair moved to the Burgh at the turn of the year.

Jamie set up another youth club in nearby Renton at the age of 16, and having lived in their adopted hometown for around seven months, he and James - who is originally from the east end of Glasgow - feel there is a definite need for a similar scheme in Helensburgh.

James told the Advertiser: “In my area there was always something for kids to do, there were three or four different clubs, whereas here you have the Army Cadets and sports groups but if kids don’t really enjoy those specific things there’s nothing really for them to go and do.

“The response so far has been absolutely great. We’ve had people messaging us pretty much thanking us for doing it.

“They’ve been saying it’s been well needed in the area for a long time but no-one has ever got round to doing it.

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“I can only comment based on what I’ve seen from the past seven months or so living in the area, but I can see that there’s a gap in the market for this.”

The club will officially open tomorrow (Friday, August 27) with a session from 6-7.30pm for children in P1-7, and from 7.35-9pm for those in S1-S4.

Entry costs £2 and a range of activities will be on offer including arts and crafts, team games, IT use (games consoles, computer skills etc.), tuck shop and trips and excursions, while a firm focus will also be on developing the volunteers who will help run the club.

James said: “We’ve got a couple of volunteers now and we have a couple more coming in, so we want to get them as much training as possible.

“If we can get funding for things like first aid qualifications, child protection certificates, and get more volunteers certificated then it’s more beneficial for us.

“If we’re running things like BTEC qualifications, then we thought why not do it for the volunteers, so that they get something out of it as well.

“They’re giving up their free time to come and help us, so we want to do as much as possible to help them at the same time.”

Around 30 youngsters have registered an interest in attending the first night, and after weeks of preparation James said he can’t wait to finally get started.

“Myself and Jamie have put in about 200 hours each,” said James, “there’s been a lot of planning to get to this stage.

“There’s been a lot of work and hard effort, so to finally see it pay off, especially with the response in the past couple of weeks, is great.

“All the volunteers are the exact same.

“I think it definitely will benefit the area. We know about Route 81 in Garelochhead for 11-18-year-olds, so the older group has got something, but it’s not ideal for Helensburgh people travelling there at night.

“We’re not in competition with any of the other youth groups in the area, we want to work in partnership with them.”

For more information check out Helensburgh Youth Club on Facebook or email helensburghyouthclub@gmail.com.

You can also donate to an online fund-raiser for the club by visiting gofundme.com/f/helensburgh-youth-club-start-up.