East Bierley CC Winter COVID-19 Fundraiser

Aim

Raise funds for essential club improvement projects to make up for a shortfall in fundraising opportunities / lose of income due to COVID-19

PLAYER CHALLENGE UPDATE 08/12/20

We smashed our target in just 3 days following some considerable efforts from all involved. We have now decided as a group to go further and try get the return mileage in also before the 12/12/20 therefore the target is now 731.8 miles (1174km). Some weary bodies on show now so any help you can give to support will be greatly appreciated and motivate the group to ensure we hit this new tougher target.

OUR STORY

COVID-19 has had a major impact upon the club, hindering fundraising efforts and causing major club events to be cancelled in line with government guidelines. In turn, this has meant that much needed projects at the club have come to a standstill. 

WHO ARE WE?

East Bierley Cricket Club is a community Clubmark accredited club at the heart of Easy Bierley village with 2 senior teams and junior teams from All Stars to U15 who compete in the Bradford Cricket League and over the last couple of years through hard work and dedication we have transitioned into a major community hub. Both for sport and non sporting purposes. The club encourages participation in cricket, other sports and community groups while engaging with the East Bierley public to promote the club facilities and build a sustainable future as a sporting hub in the village. 

The club is a volunteer organisation led by a small army of committee members and other volunteers who all give their time freely to push the club forward and we are very pleased with our achievements.

We not only hold cricket for all ages we also have charity run PHAB sports camps in school holidays which offer disadvantaged and disabled young people the chance to socialise with others through sport and not sporting subjects. A high percentage of these participants been from a BAME background. 

Our club is open to all, regardless of talent and we are very proud of our development of juniors. We provide a safe, fun and inclusive environment for our children. We recognise they are our future.

THE WHY

Events such as quiz nights are run for the members and host regular inter-school sporting events, local primary school sports day and allow the use of our function room for local village preservation meetings and caravan club meetings free of charge. Finally during the summer lockdown a lot of the older demographic used the outfield to play bowls against each other on and to socially distance exercise becoming a hub of hope for the community through these tough times. However due to the current restrictions we have lost out on the opportunity to host such events which were predicted to raise between £8-10k over the summer.

We have shown, after refurbishing aspects of the club over the last 2 years we are committed to investing in the club facilities continuing to ensure we make the facility one the village and members are proud of but also one that is fit for purpose to host all the above mentioned provision. We are now attempting the Crowdfunder to reach out to members, players, sponsors, local businesses and friends of the club to help support us with our next project. The club is planning to use these funds towards the below projects

- Junior coaching project
- Repair of current drains and installation of new drainage trenches to stop pitch water-logging stopping junior and senior training nights / matches in addition to the PHAB club activities.
- Scoreboard repairs
- Sightscreen repair and upgrade

These will allow cricket to continue to be played at our community club and allow us to provide playing facilities that we are proud of. On top of this, we will be able to create a sustainable junior coaching set up which aims to provide inclusive opportunities to all juniors who come to the club as well as continue to host PHAB sports camps / activities for disadvantaged young children and disabled young people from the community.

THE HOW

Player Challenge
Dates - Saturday 5th December - Saturday 12th December 2020

The distance to all the current Bradford Cricket League senior clubs from East Bierley's South View Road ground is 365.9 miles (587km). We are aiming to complete this distance in just a week through running, cycling or walking. Each member will be doing this individually inline with the COVID-19 guidance, using the Strava app to map their total distance per day with a prize going to the individual who contributes the most to this total.

How can you help?

To help us bounce back from the Covid crisis please donate however much you feel comfortable with. We are aware that individuals and businesses have also been hit hard financially with the impact of COVID-19 so any donation, large or small, is greatly appreciated as we start to look forward to 2021.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and stay safe

EBCC

This project successfully funded on 5th January 2021