Who we are

In 1992, LEAP was born out a sense of frustration at a lack of services available for older
people in the Cambuslang area. A group of people got together and formed a plan to meet
the needs of older people in a practical and fun way. Their first meeting was in a car and
one of the first activities was to produce a book of memories of living and working in
Cambuslang - Within oor ken.

Since then the project has gone from strength to strength in Lanarkshire, becoming a

charity in 1995, winning the prestigious Queens Award for Voluntary Service in 2010,
becoming the only befriending service in Lanarkshire for older people to have held the
Quality in Befriending award since 2015 and our Investing in Volunteers award since 2016.

In 2019 we were named Older People's Project of the Year at the Herald Society Awards
and in 2021 we were VASLan's Organisation of the Year.

Today LEAP has more than 2,500 members, clients and volunteers in communities across
Lanarkshire, remaining true to its roots through its Learning and Leisure activities,
but now also supporting older people in their homes with befriending and handyperson
services. From April 2023, the new SCIO, The LEAP Enterprise, has managed R:evolve Recycle's clothing swap shop in Rutherglen as well as a thrift + gift shop in Cambuslang, giving pre-loved clothes a second life, teaching people about the impact of fashion on climate change and teaching people recycling and upcycling skills.

And in 2024 LEAP took possession of two former South Lanarkshire buildings - Toll Pitch in Cambuslang and Spittal in Rutherglen - to make them sustainable Community Hubs. A third Hub will also be available at the former Halfway Library