Paisley’s renowned Star Project celebrated its 25th birthday with a bumper present from Paolo Nutini.
The Paisley musician, who earlier this year staged a concert to raise funds for the charity and Doctors Without Borders, this week handed over a massive £101,886.
It was an incredible way to end what has been a 25-day celebration of the project and its work supporting almost 60,000 Buddies over two and a half decades.
Rather than buying tickets, Paolo fans entered a £3 raffle for a pair of tickets for the Paisley Town Hall show on August 6.
The Last Night in the Bittersweet singer launched the fundraiser in a bid to support the medical charity’s work in Gaza and to bolster the “amazing” efforts of the Star Project in tackling poverty, social isolation and mental well-being.
This week the singer handed over the cash raised from the event - a massive moment for the charity which started off humbly with a drop-in in a tenement flat in Shortroods in 1999.
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Heather Kay, manager of the Star Project, said the Paisley concert was undoubtedly one of the many highlights of the past 25 years, explaining Paolo’s support had put the charity on the world stage.
“We can’t thank Paolo, his team, all the wonderful people who text [to win a ticket] and the great people and organisations who helped us promote it enough,” Heather said.
“Your generosity will make a huge difference and help us remain as responsive as possible to our community’s needs.
“The concert itself was wonderful and it was great to see everyone excited; it was hugely positive for the Star Project and Paisley.”
The gig however is just one of many highlights for the charity which was initially set up by local churches to tackle poverty and provide practical support to families in the Shortroods area.
It has grown into an organisation on a mission to build safer, more connected and resilient communities.
It tackles food poverty with a community fridge and pantry; tackles social isolation with a host of activities such as Men’s Shed and toddlers group Little Stars and neurodivergent support group; hosts a series of creative workshops and is integral to campaigning for change, working with Renfrewshire Council on making a fairer and more equal society.
Devastated to see poverty retain such a tight group on Paisley, the Star Project and its members are however proud to still be here and more capable of supporting the community than ever.
From the financial crash in 2008 to the Covid-19 pandemic and ongoing cost-of-living crisis, the charity has consistently adapted to meet the needs of the most vulnerable people in the community.
Heather said: “Building up to this birthday we were speaking with our community trustees about marking this big birthday and asking should we be celebrating when the need for support is higher than ever.
“One of our members said, ‘it’s not about the need to be here but about celebrating the fact you are here’ and that was really important to hear.
“In community work it is quite rare for a grassroots organisation to still be going after all this time. Our ethos, our approach has never changed and we have never lost sight of that; we haven’t morphed into anything else.”
The project marked 25 years on Friday with a birthday tea, inviting all those who have been part of the Star Project – staff, members and supporters – to come together for cake and the warm welcome the initiative is know for.
They were also joined by leaders from other Paisley organisations and Neil Bibby MSP.
Heather added: “Over these 25 years our community members have been phenomenal and we want them to know that. We have been reflecting these past few weeks, talking about people who have had the most positive impact on you and the stories have been beautiful and really lovely to hear.
“The Star magic is as strong now as it was years ago and we feel privileged that local people continue to trust us to support them.”
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