A dance evening held at the Kirkonnel Miners Memorial Hall on Saturday February 21 raised £1420 for Scottish Autism’s family support services.

Local organiser Jane Borthwick, whose son Keegan is affected by autism said: “I put on this event every year to support Scottish Autism. Keegan needs a lot of care and Scottish Autism has helped me access the kind of support he needs. I am so grateful to them and hope that other families like us can benefit from their advice and support.” Jane continued; “The event took a lot of hard work and time to organise but the result was worth the effort.

"As a community, it was great to get together at a local venue for a fun social evening. 180 tickets were sold and people donated loads of fabulous prizes for the raffle.

"I’m pretty exhausted, The Goodfellows kept us dancing into the wee small hours. They were absolutely brilliant and also played for a reduced fee which was so kind of them.” Karen Wilson, Fundraising Manager for Scottish Autism, added: “We are tremendously grateful to Jane for her amazing efforts. She embodies the energy, drive and community spirit that is the foundation of our success and allows us to offer much needed support and advice to families in Scotland who are affected by autism.” The “Tune into Autism” initiative helps bring people together to raise money for Scottish Autism, as well as highlighting the importance of support like music therapy. Bands, musicians and community groups who would like to get involved should e-mail fundraising@scottishautism.org or call 01259 720044.