Moray’s Greyfriars Club: Social group for adults with learning disabilities seeks community support

A BELOVED Elgin Social Club is seeking support from the community to continue providing vital services to members.

The Greyfriars Club has been running for more than 50 years and is attended by 82 adults with learning disabilities, who gather each Thursday for social events and activities.

Each year, the club hosts a range of fundraising activities, in order to keep costs low for their members. Members pay just £20 for the year and all of the group’s parties and trips are paid for through fundraising.

Chairperson May Newlands said: “We only charge members £20, which pays for the running of the group and all our costs and insurance. Everything else is raised by volunteers and all of the extra money goes to trips out, events and activities for members, we don’t want to charge them more a year so we try and fundraise as much as we can to spend on them.”

This year, volunteers are organising a coffee morning on Saturday, May 18 to raise funds for the group. The event will take place in the supper room at Elgin Town Hall from 10am to 12pm. Homemade bottomless pancakes, along with tea and coffee are included in the entry fee of £4 for adults and £1.50 for children. Attendees can also enjoy shortbread, biscuits, a bottle stall, raffle stalls, and a cake and candy stall.

The group are also in the process of looking for a new home, as Elgin Town Hall will close for refurbishment at the end of the year. With a focus on accessibility and space for activities like dancing, finding a suitable location has been difficult, so fundraising this year may be more important than ever.

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