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₤50,000 boost to of
Southport Gymnastics Club
PLANS for the now parent run management
committee of Southport Gymnastics Club to buy their building in Ainsdale have
taken another couple of important steps forward.
The club; now operating as a charity; has just received a ₤50,000 boost from the
Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) towards the funding they require to purchase the
premises they operate from at Segars Lane, Ainsdale, Merseyside.
The CAF donation was in the form of match funding for the ₤50,000 raised by the
club between September 2016 and December 2016, from a variety of activities
including sponsored events, cake sales and fundraising from the club's annual
Christmas displays.
Matt Dodd, Chairman of Southport Gymnastics Club, commented:- "We're
exceptionally grateful to the Charities Aid Foundation for this donation, and
also to all the local people who supported the fundraising activities this
donation was matched with."
In addition, YMCA Liverpool, the new owners of the premises, have agreed to
remove a ₤40,000 price increase in relation to the property which would apply if
the gymnastic club was unable to complete the purchase before September 2017.
The original agreement to purchase the building was reached with Sefton YMCA
whose assets were subsequently transferred to YMCA Liverpool following the
merger of the 2 charities. YMCA Liverpool have since been extremely supportive
of Southport Gymnastics Club and its aims, and in addition to waiving the price
increase they have also provided support to the club in other areas such as
fundraising.
Matt Dodd added:- "The support we have had from YMCA Liverpool, funders,
our gymnasts, their families and Southport residents as a whole has been
fantastic. It means we are now well on the way to achieving our target, and can
now look forward to building a very positive future for the club. We've managed
to come a long way in a very short time in terms of generating the funds we need
and we look forward to shortly announcing our final plans to raise the remaining
funds needed to allow us to purchase the building."
Southport Gymnastics Club was formed in 1973 as Birkdale Gymnastics Club by a
group of parents inspired by the performance of 16 year old Russian gymnast,
Olga Korbut, in the 1972 Olympics.
The club eventually changed its name and became part of Southport YMCA, but
following changes in that organisation it was threatened with closure in 2015.
Fortunately a parent run group then stepped in to successfully campaign and save
the gym, launching its ambitious fundraising plans to also own the premises
securing the future of gymnastics provision in the area.
All this means that the club's facilities continue to be available to the 1,300
children and young people who attend classes every week.
The club is still exploring further match funding options and seeking new donors
and sponsors, and more fundraising activities are in the pipeline, including a
charity car wash at Southport Fire Station, on Saturday, 8 July 2017.
If you want to help them with raising cash, you can visit the clubs donation
page by clicking on
here. For more information about the club
and also how to join go to:-
SouthportGymnastics.Org.UK.
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