TEEN PROJECT FUNDRAISING
EVENTS |
| Recent Teen Project fundraising towards
the maintenance fund: |
| 2004 |
Christmas Fair raised |
£265 |
| 2003 |
Christmas Fair raised |
£400 |
| 2004 |
New Year's Eve Party |
£175 |
| 2003 |
New Year's Eve Party |
£500 |
| 2004 |
Easter Fair |
£250 |
|
View a detailed
plan of the Teen Project
(This may take a short time to load - 4 seconds
@ 56k bps) |
|
In the meantime plans for further fundraising
events go on. You may ask why the need to fundraise when we have already
got the money we needed? Quite simply, to assist with the cost of
maintenance and to help build up a fund for future expansion and replacement.
|
|
We have booked the
MSC and Joe Elliott Roadshow disco again for the New
Year's Eve Party by popular demand.
More details nearer the time. |
|
More up to date photos
have been added to the Teen Project link below |
|
History of the Teen
Project |
The Project was officially opened by County
Councillor Jane Midwood on 31st January. Despite awful weather most
of those invited managed to attend - many wisely bringing their wellies
- and brave the wind and rain to witness the ribbon cutting by Jane,
ably assisted by Shaun Hayes and Luke Boardman, and the blessing by
Rev. Ian Finn. Unfortunately the rain meant that the ramps were too
wet for safe use so the skateboarders and BMXers were not able to
demonstrate their growing skills. Fortunately the weather did not
put off the press and the event got good coverage in the Bury
Free Press, Haverhill Echo and Newmarket Journal.
At the small buffet following the opening, Peter and I were presented
with totally unexpected gifts from the youngsters of Wickhambrook
and surrounding villages. The accompanying card was signed by over
40 of them so rather than pick out individuals we would like to say
a huge thank-you to them all. The gifts meant a lot to us but almost
better was that the idea for the gifts came from the youngsters themselves
and that they raised the money for them.
As is usually the case with any project there are always little jobs
to be completed. The foundations of the shelter need to be filled
in and some small adjustments made to the equipment. The ruts across
the recreation ground have to be filled in and some rubbish cleared
away. It had been hoped that this work could have been completed before
the opening but the weather was against us. However the suppliers
have assured us that the work will be carried out as soon as conditions
allow the necessary machinery to be brought in.
I would like to personally thank the rest of the Project committee
for their support and hard work. And a special thanks to the youngsters
without whom the Project would not have been started and who have
been so friendly and helpful to us even when it must have seemed to
them that progress was so slow that the park would never be built.
While on thanks, I must apologise to Sue Britnell whose name somehow
fell off of the list of donors included in January's Scene. Sue ran
the cake stall at our fairs, the takings from which were all donated
to the Project, and must have spent hours sweating - sorry perspiring
- over her AGA to get all the delicious cakes made.
I know that there are still some people who think the Project should
never have been built or who doubt its value to the village. However
I hope that in time they will see that that having a recognised meeting
point for the youngsters where they can enjoy their sporting interests
and improve their skills has made it worthwhile.
When, as a lay member of the Parish Council Estates Committee, I first
took on the Teen Project I said that I would stay with it until it
was in place. Once the outstanding work is completed I shall pull
back from direct involvement as I feel that the further development
and "policing" of the Project should be in the hands of
the parents of those using it and, more importantly, of the users
themselves. The Project committee will continue as a fund raising
body to assist with the cost of maintenance and possible future improvements
and to this end some events are already planned - Easter Fayre, 3rd
April; Christmas Fayre; New Year Party - and others may be, so please
continue to support their efforts.
Finally a word to all who use the Project - it is yours, look after
it, use it properly, use it safely and use it well
Pam
Miller |
Published in The Scene : Issue No.
209 : March - April 2004 |
|
Previous Reports Issued
In The Scene |
January/February
2004 report - At last the long wait is over. We have achieved
our ambition of providing the young people of Wickhambrook and surrounding
villages with a facility to be proud of.
At the time of writing, there are still some details to be attended
to - the usual sort of things, bits and pieces that were not delivered
on time. Some damage has also been done to the surface of the recreation
ground which the installers have assured us will be put right. The
installers took every care to minimise this damage but given the amount
of rain we had while the equipment was being installed, some damage
could not be avoided.
The site and the equipment has been inspected by the Royal Society
for the Prevention of Accidents and even though some work was still
being done when the inspection was carried out, we were given the
OK to open the facility. Skateboarders and BMXers had tried out some
of the ramps the weekend before, strictly against regulations of course
but who could blame them, they had been waiting a long time after
all. First reactions from them were very favourable. If you visit
the skatepark you will see a safety notice on the quarter-pipe. A
bigger version of this is being prepared and the most important part
of it will be to advise that safety equipment should be worn by skaters
and riders. The equipment concerned is helmet, elbow and knee pads
and I would ask everyone to help by encouraging their use. I know
its not seen as 'cool' to wear safety gear but its not cool to be
injured either. An arm in plaster may be seen as a badge of honour
but the arm will probably heal - a head injury could be permanent.
Besides, professional skaters and BMXers all wear the gear so it can't
be that uncool!
There will be an official opening of the facility. We had hoped to
arrange it shortly after installation but with a little work still
left to do and the closeness of Christmas we had to postpone it. We
now hope to arrange it in January. The date will be well advertised
and invitations will be sent out to all those directly involved with
the development and funding of the Project.
On the question of funding, I would like to publicly thank the following
individuals and organisations, mainly in chronological order, for
their generous donations:
Rural Activities for the 90's (RAFT)
Wickhambrook Cycling Club
R.G. Boyce of Newmarket
Marks and Spencer PLC
Daisy Watts
International Flavours and Fragrances Ltd
Claire and David Tomsett
R.C. Treatt & Co Ltd
Christine Hardy
Ian & Theresa at The
Greyhound
Parochial Church Council
Tradition Tiling
Newmarket Equine Security Ltd
County Councillor Jane Midwood - Locality Fund
Sport England - Lottery Fund
Suffolk Environment Trust for the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme
Plumbers Arms
Gun Club
St Edmundsbury Borough Council
Wickhambrook
Parish Council
Plus three others who I would like to have been able to thank publicly
but who requested anonymity and I must respect their wishes.
Thanks also to the members of the Teen Project Advisory Committee
and others who helped to organise and run the fundraising events over
the past couple of years and to everyone who supported these events.
The most recent, at the time of writing, fundraiser, the Christmas
Fayre, proved very successful with the variety of stalls and refreshments
raising just over £400. Why are we still fundraising even though
the Project is complete? To assist with future maintenance and replacement
so that not all these cost will have to be met from local taxation.
Pam Miller |
Published in The Scene : Issue No.
208 : January - February 2004 |
|
November/December
report - As you may have seen in the local press the project
was awarded a Lottery grant of £28,742 by Sport England. Along
with other grants, business and private donations and monies raised
through the programme of fundraising events, this enabled the order
to be placed for the Project.
At the time of writing, we expect groundwork to start within a few
days (see the Teen Project
page for the latest development). This work is expected to take two
to three weeks with a further week for the surface to set. The equipment
will then be installed, which is expected to take another two weeks.
The timing depends on the weather but all being well we should see
the Project completed early in December. Nearer the time we will advertise
the official opening, which we hope to make a big event with a skateboard
and BMX display team to get the facility off to a good start. |
|
July/August Report
- Well, we are still waiting to hear whether our application
to Sport England for a Lottery Grant has been successful. You may
have heard or seen reports that Sport England is short of funds due
to the fall in Lottery sales. Even so, we are still optimistic as
we have been advised that our application has passed through two committee
stages and will be presented to the Sports Council for a final decision
early in July.
In the meantime we have succeeded in getting grants from the Borough
Council and through the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme. These grants,
together with those from the Parish Council, our County Councillor
Jane Midwood, individual supporters and RAFT plus the fundraising
activities of the Project Committee have raised the funds for the
Project to over £34,000.
We have also applied for grants to The Foundation for Sport and the
Arts, funded jointly by Vernons and Littlewoods Football Pools, and
the East of England Community Safety Fund. We are still optimistic
that Sport England will provide the extra money needed but if not,
or if they only provide some of it, one of those two might view our
application kindly. In any case we need lots of fingers crossed.
Our next local fundraising will be at the Carnival
on 12th July so we hope to see you there. Who knows, we may have more
good news to report. |
|
|
