Help Beccehamian RFC following impact of Covid

Beccehamian RFC Covid Impact, Clubhouse Refurbishment and Extension Projects

Your help will allow us to survive the COVID-19 financial impact, revive our club facilities with much needed refurbishment, improvements whilst planning a future that allows us to thrive in our community and would provide more opportunities for our local community to participate in our sport and become part of our rugby family.

The Vision and Fundraising

As mentioned by Nick Brooks in the Beccs March 2021 newsletter (link here) Beccs must raise significant funds just following the impact of Covid loss of revenue, and to maintain the existing clubhouse which is now approaching 50 years old. The club has already spent almost £100,000 in overhauling the clubhouse internally which has given us a high-quality kitchen, a complete rewiring and heating overhaul so that we are fully fire and safety compliant, and a major upgrade of the bar areas so that we have something that is more 21st century than 1970s.

However, it does not end there as at the end of February 2021 we had to initiate a project to replace the entire roof of the club house due to more storm damage over Christmas as it had been patched it up over the years to a point where we can patch it no more and if left unaddressed, we will leak water and ruin the great internal work which has just been completed. We now need funds to support the cost of this replacement and your assistance will enable BRFC to complete this project to re-open safely and also enjoy the new internal facilities and return to play the game we all so dearly miss

The Vision and Fundraising

Beccehamian Rugby Football Club has suffered a significant, year-long loss of income due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

None of us envisaged the club being out of action for so long, nor the devastating effect it has had on our income streams. With our annual fund-raising events cancelled, facilities hire halted, fixtures suspended and revenue from our bar wiped out, we are reaching out for your support to help us support the costs of the of essential maintenance improvements that will help us to continue to grow and provide more opportunity for our Beccehamian community to be more active.

During the past 6 months we have re-invested back into BRFC and undertaken essential maintenance required for us to safely re-open all areas of the clubhouse & changing rooms once allowed to do so. We now need to replenish the income taken away by the pandemic and your assistance in participating and sponsoring in the 2,000 Km Challenge will help us re-open.

BRFC MEMBERS

We consider our members to be our biggest asset. Without them the club would not be a vibrant place, with a strong team and community spirit. Rugby is at the heart of what we offer, regardless of age or skill, and we pride ourselves on being an open and inclusive rugby club with competitive rugby and opportunities at every age grade from U6 to our veterans side, not forgetting our fantastic women and girls sides.

We are also a community club and hold charity fund raising Mini Festivals in aid of the Children’s Brain Tumour research, this too was impacted by the pandemic and regrettably we were unable to host our annual fund raising events this year.

The Challenge

Full details on club website link here: https://www.pitchero.com/clubs/beccehamianrfc/news/beccehamian-rfc-2000km-walk--run-challenge--sunday-21-march-2021-2599385.html

We are inviting the entire Beccehamian RFC community, all ages of adults and children, all the family, past and present, to participate in a remote walk or run (no cycling) covering an ambitious 2,000kms in a single day on Sunday 21 March 2021.

Say 400 people cover 5km each, that would be our target reached. Every 0.01km counts, walking to the shops, cutting the lawn, a jog with the family. This is a walk or run only, distance covered by cycling, or by pets for that matter, will NOT count we are afraid !

Everyone participating will be recognised on the list of participants.

How to get involved? and recording Activity

*** Only activity recorded on Sunday 21 March 2021 will count ***

Whilst there is no limit on the kms covered, PLEASE PLEASE do so safely and within your healthy limits and government Covid guidelines. We do not want any serious injuries or adverse health caused, as a result of any activity undertaken on the day. Once your walk or run activity are complete, please:

1. Complete the details of activity completed by each person on the google sheet link here: https://forms.gle/HP1MHsRNkmJAZTRj7

2. Details required are: (a) Name of each person completing the activity, (b) Distance covered km? walk or run ? and (c) Contact details.

3. Any queries, questions or difficulties with entering the details, please contact Daniel Kemp on 07876 215584 or [email protected].

Crowd funding donation page here with Raffle prizes to be won

Any donations and fundraising would be very gratefully received. No minimum or max donation, say 400 people can generate £10-£20 each, that’s healthy return of £4,000 to £8,000. Please add gift aid if you are a UK tax payer too:

Crowdfunder page link here: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/beccehamianrfc

FREE ENTRY in to a raffle for those making the following donations / sponsorship, there will be three raffle draws:

Free entry in to a raffle draw for those who donate/raise sponsorship between £20-£34.99 - with the winner getting a £50 Beccs Bar/club shop tabFree entry in to a raffle draw for those who donate/raise sponsorship £35-£49.99 with the winner getting a £75 Beccs Bar/club shop tab and a Beccs engraved glass.Free entry in to a raffle draw for those who donate/raise sponsorship £50 plus, with the winner getting a £100 Beccs Bar/club shop tab and a Beccs engraved glass.

Club and our Future

The executive committee has representatives sitting on it covering all sections of the club, and we are very mindful and sensitive to the current economic climate and peoples’ varying financial positions. Naturally like all the hospitality industry over the last year, our one regular source of income over the bar has been significantly reduced over the past 12 months. We have a burning ambition to provide our club with a 21st century clubhouse that we can all be proud of.

Our Crowdfunding Aims

• Recover - We hope that this campaign will support us recover from the financial and impact of COVID-19 and the cost of the investments into the club house and for the replacement roof.
• Support – our local community to keep active, stay healthy, and to reach out to someone to be involved with our BRFC family
• Return to Play - The return to play protocols will also extend to training, which in turn will need the acquisition of new equipment to allow socially distanced training sessions (balls, cones, hand sanitizer, etc) in line with RFU guidelines
• Rebuild – our schools and community programs to allow boys and girls to play the sport we all love. Offer fitness, healthy living and activities for all.
• Move on - As a club but also a community, offer everyone the opportunity through our facilities and offer to live physically active healthy lifestyle. 
• Build the future - support the investment into the proposed club house extension and new changing room facilities to enable equal opportunities and inclusivity for all our members and anyone wanting to play rugby at BRFC.

Community 

Beccehamian RFC always tries to provide for the community in some way and we try to always give back. However, we find ourselves in an unusual situation where we need our communities support. We need everyone to pull together and support their local rugby club, so we are able to survive, revive and thrive.

We are therefore asking our local community, club members, players (past and present), supporters, residents, and businesses to all pull together and collectively help us through our most difficult time. With your help, we can continue to provide members of our community with the opportunity to engage in regular and meaningful activities.

Any donations received will be hugely appreciated and will be used to undertake the works highlighted above, so please donate if you can and 'pass it on' to a friend or colleague to help spread the word.