What a Year!
OUR TARGET for a new steel pool which reduces water volume and heating costs, has easier access and is affordable (as it turns out) is £250,000.
By the end of December, we had made £235,000!!!
Most of this came from you – from sponsored swims, the Olympic Fanzone, 500 Club subscriptions, bonfire night, bingo, plant stalls, apple pressing, Clun’s Charity Night and collection buckets, as well as a host of small events and sponsorship from very generous local donors.
We now have until the Campaign Finale on March 7 to gain the remaining £15,000. Currently planned events are:
· Art of Swimming – Drusilla Cole’s exhibition in the SpArC gallery, including 30 pieces donated to our campaign, continues until the end of January
· Arts Festival – On Sunday February 23, a soup and scone/tea and cake café will pop up in Bank House between 11am and 4pm.
· The final sponsored swim
· Grande Finale – The social event of the year, hosted by Ollie Morgan, will shortly be available, only by ticket
Can you please, as last year, give us any unwanted Christmas gifts, and start thinking about growing on plants?
SHROPSHIRE COUNCIL BUDGET CONSULTATION:
Please, please, please respond to this consultation, and ask your friends and relatives to do so too. It’s fiddly but, if you follow the instructions below, it could make a HUGE difference to the amount of money that comes our way.
Our communities is paying for the new pool, but there are significant installation costs as well as the potential to upgrade the building in other sustainable ways which could be part of the same job.
You have to respond to the whole consultation, but Section 4 has a question about Leisure, and Section 5 takes you to a specific question about SpArC. The whole thing took me 30 minutes:
· Click on: Budget consultation 2025/26 | Shropshire Council
· For the printed version, scroll to bottom of page: Documents, and click on Budget Consultation.
· To reply online (which I did), click on How to get involved, near the top of the page and then Go to the feedback form.
· Take each page as it comes and, when you get to section 5, be sure to identify the SpArC Leisure Centre as the plan you particularly like.
HOW TO MAKE A DONATION
· Make a BACS payment to Sport & Arts in the Community (SPARC) SW Shropshire: Sort Code 40-52-40; A/c No 00030653
· Donate to JUSTGIVING: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/sparc-pool-at-50-2024
· Leave a cheque at Enterprise House made payable to Sport & Arts in the Community (SPARC) SW Shropshire – FAO Graham Hemmings
If you are a UK taxpayer and not donating via JustGiving, PLEASE complete a Gift Aid Form, which will increase your donation’s value by 25%. Copies can be obtained by emailing gshemmings@hotmail.com.
HOW TO OFFER HELP
Please email jeanshirley@btinternet.com or ruthmhoughton55@gmail.com with anyoffer of help, however small it may seem to you.