Charitable couple clinch East Renfrewshire’s Citizen of the Year

The 2018 East Renfrewshire Council Provost Award has been presented to founders of local charity, Include Me 2 Club, Paul and Ashley McIlvenny.

The Award honours people who have contributed to the local community and gives the Provost an opportunity to say thank you to the army of unsung volunteers across the area.

Paul and Ashley, who received their award at the Council’s Eastwood HQ by Provost Jim Fletcher, set-up the charity nearly ten years ago to provide young people and adults with additional support needs a safe space to enjoy music, sport and learn new skills.

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Their aim is to change the face of social care in East Renfrewshire by taking a person centred approach to engage, enable, empower and enhance the lives of members and their families.

Provost of East Renfrewshire, Councillor Jim Fletcher said: “It was a real honour to present the 2018 award to Paul and Ashley and hear about the exciting future plans they have for their charity. We received a record number of nominations in for a wide variety of worthy people and this provided the judging panel with a tough task.

“However when we read through the work and commitment the McIlvennys continue to put into the charity and the number of lives they have made a difference to, we were all in agreement that they deserved the accolade.”

Ashley said: “We are delighted and honoured to have been nominated by so many people in our community for this fantastic award. Having started Include Me 2 Club back in 2010, little did we know the impact it would have or the needs/demands there are for the services we provide. We are so privileged to be surrounded by so many amazing people, our members, our volunteers, our supporters and the wider community who come out week after week and time after time to benefit everyone we reach.

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Paul added: “We especially would like to thank our family and friends, many whom are involved with the organisation at some level for all their support.

“It’s fantastic to be able to share this with them all as they all play an invaluable role in what we do.”

To find out more about Include Me 2 Club, visit www.includeme2club.org.uk.