A CHARITABLE youth project's open day was the perfect opportunity to get a taste of what the fast-emerging scheme will have to offer on launch this month.

Connect Alloa held the event on Saturday, March 30, at its space within St Mungo's Parish Church giving both volunteers and potential service users the opportunity to get a feel for what is to come in the near-future.

Various activities were of offer with people dropping in-and-out as they wished, including some arts and crafts, a tombola and a raffle, an air hockey table, instruments to play, food by Tullibody's professional chef Billy Campbell and a Nintendo Switch hooked up to a projector proved to be popular too.

For Dave Crozier, the man behind the original idea who is now supported by trustees and volunteers, it was an opportunity to answer questions and gauge interest.

He said: "It was really good and it was nice to just have open conversations with some people about their worries and their concerns about Alloa and how we could potentially fill the void."

Indeed, the aim of the project is to provide activities for young people and a space they can use for socialising – the need for this emerging from Dave's previous community engagements in a former job.

St Mungo's Parish Church minister Rev Sang Y Cha previously highlighted the church was happy to lend its space to Connect Alloa as a way of helping the community and making sure the church building is utilised, but he stressed the involvement was by no means a drive to boost the numbers of the congregation.

He said: "I saw a new creation taking shape at St Mungo's, with the Guild coffee morning, Connect Alloa, our church elder and chef Billy Campbell cooking pancakes in our new fellowship area, and the colour of Church of Scotland blue of our new stained glass window shimmering on our blue carpet.

"It reminded me of that traditional wedding rhyme: 'Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a sixpence in your shoe'.

"Something old stands for continuity: The Guild.

"Something new stands for optimism for the future: Connect Alloa.

"Something borrowed stands for good luck: Our new social space.

"Something blue stands for love and fidelity: The Church of Scotland Blue.

"'The sixpence' represents future prosperity.

"We are still looking forward to that sixpence. Connect Alloa will need the community's help."

The youth project is aiming to officially launch at the end of April.

Anyone looking to find out more about what will be on offer, or about volunteering opportunities, can find Connect Alloa on Facebook.