At the request of the Mosgiel Elderly Care Trust (MECT), PSO took the reins on July 1.
Club Enliven is for over-65s who want to meet others, join in social activities and share a meal. The aim is to enrich the lives of members, plus help maintain mental and physical health.
At a launch function on Monday, MECT chairman Kevin Dale said: ‘‘This is a momentous occasion.’’
He spoke of the origins of the trust 38 years earlier and its move from offering a one-day-a-week service for the elderly to its present 3500 care days a year.
Mr Dale described the process leading to the transfer to PSO, made largely because of the issue of ageing board members.
‘‘We reached the stage as a board that we could no longer run it with assurance of [ongoing] management. It was time to go,’’ he said.
The board approached PSO to take over the programme and the physical assets, including a new 14-seater van. The Gordon Rd building was already owned by PSO and leased to the trust.
‘‘This is a vital service to all the people in the community,’’ PSO chief executive officer Joanne Rowe said.
‘‘And PSO is building on the great work of the trust.’’
Enliven Services director Maurice Burrowes said: ‘‘We are delighted to launch Club Enliven Taieri, and also acknowledge its dedicated longstanding staff and volunteers.’’
Mosgiel-Taieri Community Board chairwoman Joy Davis praised the selfless involvement of trust volunteers over many years.
‘‘Families have been blessed having a bit of respite.’’
The trust had handed PSO something ‘‘to nurture and treasure’’, she said.
