Funding

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUCCESS !
 
 

HAMBRO OFFERED £10k DISABILITY HELPING HAND
"Any club could do what we do" is the message from Hambro Colts Y.F.C. Disability Football Manager Bob Pointer following the news his club are to receive nearly £10,000 of Football Foundation funding to help boost the Rochford Disability Football Academy.

The new R.D.F.A. is a project supported by the Essex County F.A. and sportessex which aims to create a Player Development Pathway from novice to advanced levels for players with special participation requirements within the District and beyond. It is staffed entirely by volunteers from F.A. Charter Standard Development Club Hambro Colts and works with local community partners Rochford District and Sports Councils, Active Rochford and Rochford & Rayleigh Volunteer Services (R.R.A.V.S.).

"When we decided to start working more with disabled adults, we produced five hundred flyers and sent them to a range of local organizations such as Mencap and other disability groups," explained Bob. "We only had seven people turn-up on the first session! But it has grown through word of mouth because, if you offer a quality opportunity, it's the best way of attracting more people."

The Academy, set to receive £9,980 from the Foundation, has over twenty-five members between the ages of eight and forty-one and three teams at Under 12s, Under 16s and adult age groups, a number which is growing by the week. The close link with R.R.A.V.S has allowed persons with social or physical issues the opportunity to join the club as volunteers and three of the Academy's seven coaches are persons with special participation requirements. In addition, the Academy's scheduled coaching support is provided to The Avro Viking Centre, Runwell Hospital Secure Unit, and other groups in coaching and club development.

Bob continued: "Our next aim is to reach a membership of fifty and to have an Academy team playing competitively within a year. We have just got a new website up and running and, in the space of just twelve days, it received over three hundred hits! I totally understand the need to make all members and their parents or carers feel they are part of the club and regular reports by newsletter and on the site let them know what we are up to."

Based in Rayleigh, Hambro's teams currently play on a public playing field and use a council hut. All matches are played at the Rochway Adult Education Centre. The club started in 2001 and opportunities for disabled children and adults really took-off in 2006. While disabled children are fully included in the Colts set up, Hambro are now also working to 2012 targets and have are also now recognized by as an sportessex Disability Sport Academy Club.

The Football Foundation, meanwhile, is dedicated to revitalising the grass roots of the game, constructing modern football facilities, developing football as a force for social cohesion and as a vehicle for education in communities throughout the Country. Funded by the Premier League, The Football Association, Sport England and the Government, the Football Foundation is the nation's largest sports charity, with a £45m budget going straight into the heart of football.

Paul Thorogood, Chief Executive of the Football Foundation, the U.K.'s largest sports charity, said: "We warmly congratulate Hambro Colts for their hard work and dedication in securing this award. I would also like to thank the Essex County F.A. for their efforts in making this bid happen. Through funding the developing of clubs, such as Hambro, the Foundation is helping to ensure that everyone is able to enjoy our national game whatever their ability."

The next stage for the club is to apply for F.A. Charter Standard Development and Ability Counts status. Free coaching sessions commenced in March, and further information can be obtained by calling (01702) 207217 or by visiting www.hambrocolts.co.uk or www.rochforddfa.co.uk

 

FACILITY INVESTMENT PAYS-OFF AT

LITTLE WALTHAM

By Mark Jackson 
Nearly twelve weeks have passed since Little Waltham Sports & Social F.C. underwent extensive development work and upgrades in order to revive their ailing facilities, and Fund-Raising Coordinator John Smith is now delighted at how the club is benefiting from new investment.

The club, based at Tufnell Hall, The Street, Little Waltham, were given a grant of £17,963 by Essex County Council to help make vital updates to their facilities. They marked the re-generation project on their sixtieth anniversary by re-opening on 23rd September, John explaining: "We have had glowing reports from the players, referees and even ladies, as we now have female changing rooms. We are over the moon!"

Club fund-raisers boosted the total by an extra £4,000, the money also being spent on new showers and storage space for the Hall. John continued: "The facilities are very welcoming, modern and refreshing. We have had fantastic feedback from people around the club."

L.W.S.S. was the 601st project to receive money from the Community Fund, claiming the single largest sum to be handed out by the scheme so far. "The development project will help us grow as a club and, at the moment, our newly-introduced Third Team have been very successful," John boasted. "We want to maximise the facility in every way possible. Our next aim is to target young people and females now. We want to run as a club and a business - this is a great opportunity to gain some income."

Braintree Council get their Grant

 

BRAINTREE PROJECT IS ONE IN A MILLION
 
Braintree District Council had reason to celebrate recently as they held the opening ceremony for Essex’s first ever facility benefiting from a million-pound Football Foundation grant near John Bramston School in Witham.

The project to construct a sand-dressed artificial floodlit pitch and changing facilities for more than ten teams, including referees’ rooms, cost around £2 million pounds in total, with a sizeable contribution coming from the Council itself. The grant from the Foundation is the largest possible for a single project, and E.C.F.A. County Development Manager, Nick Perchard, is optimistic it’s a sign of things to come: “Now we’ve got the first one under our belts I hope this is the first of many grants of this size in Essex. It’s great to see so many different organisations working together to produce a multi-million pound project for the community.”

Angela Verghese and Taiwo Ajayi from B.D.C. were involved in putting the bid together with additional assistance from Council Leader Graham Butland and the artificial pitch has already been earmarked for use by the nearby School, who will benefit from the new facilities during the day. In the evenings and weekends, clubs such as Valley Green Youth and Witham Town Ladies are amongst those who will base some of their activities at the venue.

Nacro, a crime reduction charity active in the promotion of football to make society safer, were also key partners in the project and had their own windfall to mark with the award of £110,242 swelling their account to put towards their own initiatives. Another recipient of Foundation Funding was Harlow Youth Action Group, with Helen Offord explaining what the money goes towards: “We run Girls-Only Programmes which include Saturday coaching sessions during term time and stage around five football tournaments a year.”

“The children take part in training for several weeks which then leads to a festival at the end. Another area we work in is Pan-Disability Football, which we’ve associated ourselves with for about three years. Youngsters of fourteen and over train once a week and some of the funding covers the costs of transporting them from the Harlow and Epping area and also taking them to their Step League competition in London.”

Further information on funding opportunities from the Football Foundation can be found at www.essexfa.com. Simply click on the ‘Development’ then ‘Funding’ Links.

BANKING ON SUCCESS
 
Dagenham United can look forward to finishing off their league season in smart fashion after receiving brand new coaching kit from the Barclays Spaces for Sport scheme.
 

Dagenham Utd celebrate their new kit & Charter Standard award with the ECFA's Sharon Brownlie

 
Barclays have invested over £30m into grassroots sports around the country and Dagenham's award also includes equipment which the newly credited Charter Standard club will use at their regular Saturday Soccer School plus the launch of their very first Holiday Soccer School.

The club run teams from U7-U15 and Football Development Officer, Paul Belcher, commented: "This award has enabled us to open our doors to the wider community and brought in lots of new faces to the club."

The kit and equipment donation is just one of 1200 packs that Barclays award each year and their Sponsorship Director, Michelle Smith, added: "Barclays are delighted to be supporting Dagenham United and hope this coaching kit will encourage their interest in sport and lead them to greater success."

Dagenham United are now looking to form more links with schools in the area and long term plans include the re-development of their training ground in Manor Road after receiving a 20 year lease on the site recently.

For more information on the Barclays Spaces for Sport scheme log onto http://www.barclays.co.uk/spacesforsports/
  

GOALPOST SAFETY SUCCESS
 
The Essex FA continue to support the national Goalpost Safety campaign and 2006 finished with over 60 successful projects around the county thanks to grants totalling £52,277 from the Football Foundation.
 
The safety campaign aims to remove goalposts that are wooden and freestanding, pre-1996, have metal cup hooks on posts and crossbars (banned from 2007/08) and are corroded or rusted with clubs, schools and local authorities all eligible for a 50% funding grant from the Football Foundation.
 

Nick Perchard (left) with Dunton's Paul Stansfield at Great Berry Primary School

 
Five Essex clubs started 2007 awaiting confirmation of their new goalposts and one of the success stories from last year was Basildon based outfit Dunton Dynamos.

The club brokered a deal with local primary school, Great Berry, to use their pitch as a new home ground, and, in return, they'd help fund a new set of goal frames that could be used by both the club and school on a regular basis.

Dunton chairman, Paul Stansfield, commented: "The original youth size school goalposts were made from steel and were several years old, rusty and in a generally poor state of repair.

"The goal at the top of the field was so badly corroded that the crossbar had an enormous swerve in it making it six inches lower at the centre of the goal than it was at the sides!"

Dunton Dynamos approached ECFA County Development Manager, Nick Perchard, for more information on how to replace the goal frames at Great Berry and, just a few weeks later, the Football Foundation processed their application.

Paul Stansfield explained more about the new goals: "We now have two brand new sets of goalposts that meet all the latest safety standards concerning their construction and use.

"They're made mainly from aluminum and will last for many years to come. The children at the school, many of whom play for Dunton Dynamos, have therefore benefited from the partnership and long may it continue to happen!"

The Essex FA will be supporting the Goalpost Safety campaign throughout 2007 and for more information on how your club, school or local authority can benefit contact Nick Perchard on 01245 393077 or info@essexfa.com.
  

HAT TRICK FOR THE TRUST
 
The new part-Football Foundation funded Shrub End Community and Sports Centre has been given a boost with the announcement of three new staff members.
 
 
The Football Foundation contributed just over £850,000 towards the £1.4 million facility in Boadicea Way, Colchester which was officially opened back in April.

Steve Bradshaw, Chief Executive CUCST, and Corine Haines, Football Development Officer Shrub End, outside the new building
 
The new employees; Jeanette East, Corin Haines and Mark Ward join the already successful Colchester United Community Sports Trust ahead of the new Centre becoming fully operational during September. Corin Haines joins the team as the Football Development Officer for Shrub End. This post was funded by the Football Foundation to deliver the facility's Football Development plan.
 
The aim of the facilty is to establish Colchester at the forefront of community and sports provision in Essex for people of all ages and abilities. As September progresses, the Shrub End complex will offer some of the best community, educational and sporting facilities in the country.
 
    
The synthetic turf pitch at the centre is almost fully booked, but over the next few months, daytime use of the pitch and daytime and evening usage of the fully equipped education suite, seminar rooms, offices, refectory, kitchen and Terry Sutton Community Hall is now also available.

For further information on the availability of the facilities available, simply call...
01206 572 378
or e-mail
shrubend@cucst.org.uk
 
  

ITS ALL GREAT FOR BENTLEY !
 
Great Bentley Youth are certainly a team on the up - Less than a year after being formed, the Colchester based club have more than 70 players on their books and are enjoying the benefits of Charter Standard Award status.
 
After receiving a grant for £7,742 from the Football Foundation in January of this year, the club have invested in the development of players, coaches and equipment while the Parish council has even agreed to mark out four more pitches on their village green, the biggest in Britain.
 
 

Gt. Bentley received their Football Foundation cheque from the Tractor Boys in January.
 
  
The investment has also allowed Great Bentley to apply for three teams to enter the Colchester & District Youth League in the 2006/07 season instead of the original target of one.

With 50 players in their U7s and U8s squads alone, it is no surprise that coaching has been a priority as the club's Graham Budinger explained: "Since we got the grant we have been able to train up five Level One coaches and we now have seven in total. We've also been able to work with Coerver Coaching and they've been fantastic. You can't beat experience and we've all learnt so much."

Plans are now in place to bring in even more coaching staff: "We've committed to getting a goalkeeping coach and we are currently holding a recruitment drive for coaches for next season," said Graham.

The club received their Football Foundation grant in a special presentation with Ipswich Town stars, Jason De Vos, Sam Parkin and Shane Supple and the money has also gone towards first aid kits, facility hire and equipment.

Great Bentley have also raised over £2,000 themselves as Graham explained: "It's all about getting the community involved and we've organised events like a schools festival which saw four local primary schools enter seven teams.

"We train on Wednesday evenings and the village green is packed with parents and kids all having a great time."

Being given Charter Standard Award status has also been a boost for the club: "You can tell when you play against other clubs that have the Charter Standard Award. They're superbly run and the kids love running around with the FA logo on the arm!" commented Graham.

For more information on how your club can work towards Charter Standard status contact the Essex County FA's Sharon Brownlie on 01245 393074.