Who are we?
We are one of the top Angling clubs and social venues in the country. Set in the heart of the Hastings Old Town and part of its fantastic fishing and social community for over 100 years.
We are a fully inclusive club and our youth section currently consists of 30 young people aged between 8 and 17 and includes some children with learning/sensory processing difficulties and hypermobility. Our numbers are increasing almost weekly but we are close to the limit we can deal with unless we can recruit some additional coaches and improve the facilities.
Why are we crowdfunding?
The storage area will allow us to store fishing tackle on site rather than in the garage of our Head Coach who then has to transport it back and forth each session.
The club room will give the youth section a permanent base to call their own and is somewhere we can use for various fishing related activities when the weather does not allow us to get out onto the beach. We also hope that, in the future, it can be used to show schoolchildren about sea fishing; the marine ecology and sustainability.
In addition to the youth club, we also run fishing lessons for children with autism and ADHD – these children would be unable to fit within our main group as the numbers are too large. They would also benefit from the project as it will provide a stable base for them to come to and we are looking to expand this service to enable more young people to enjoy fishing.
How we’ll spend the money raised
There is a leak from the area above the unit and it appears that it requires the doors to be removed, new supporting pillars built and new doors fitted. As a result of this leak, 4 beams will need to be replaced inside the unit.
The interior of the workshop is of a block built construction with large wooden doors to the front and no ceiling as this was made of asbestos which has had to be professionally removed and disposed of. To convert this into a habitable space it will need to have timbers placed around the entire room so that plasterboard sheets can be placed over them. A stud wall will need to be built across the space to create division between the storage area and club room. There will be a door between the two areas as well as the current very large doors being reconfigured so that there is sufficient access to each room but not across the entire frontage as it stands at present. Additionally, the entire ceiling needs to be completely plaster boarded over.
The current electrics are not fit for purpose and will need to be re-worked.
The plaster board and timber work will be undertaken by volunteer club members, whilst an electrician will be employed for the wiring. We are planning on having all the work completed by the end of this year if funding can be found to allow us to push forward.
Community impact
The impact that this project will have could be far reaching. We are bringing sport to a variety of people both young and older but, not just the sport. We also give people the opportunity to learn about marine ecology and sustainability and hopefully, why we should try to make the seas a better place. New premises will enable us to extend this learning opportunity to more people. Additionally, fishing is known to be good for people's mental and physical health and this project will look to promote this as well.
How you can play your part
There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.
1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!
2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.
3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!
4. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – maybe a sponsored activity or similar – use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!