Sport England: Active Together has provided £10,000 of match funding
HELP North Shields RFC Survive COVID-19
North Shields, England, United Kingdom
Aim
The purpose of this crowd funding appeal is to raise funds to help North Shields Rugby Club through this extremely challenging time.
North Shields RFC
Founded in 1922 by the Artisans of Smiths Dock shipyard, the Club will hopefully be celebrating its 100th anniversary next season.. We believe that those founding members would be proud of their legacy and the good work that the club is doing working with other local organisations to support our local community, especially those from deprived backgrounds.
Located in the NE29 postcode we cover an area which includes some of the country’s most deprived housing estates. We are an amateur sports club providing rugby for people from all backgrounds and age groups aged from 5yrs up to 70yrs..
The club acts as a hub not just for Rugby Union but as a support for other community organisations including:
Rugby League, Mixed ability Rugby, Mental Health Charities, Special Measure Schools, Detached Youths Groups, Asylum Seeker Groups and Deprived Family Support Groups, local Secondary and Primary Schools. As a result of this hard work our membership has grow in size over the last three years.
Impact of Covid-19
The impact of Covid-19 has had a devastating affect on our Rugby Club. We have had no rugby games since March 20 till date and this is likely to continue well into next year. We have been forced to cancel the training for our seniors / Junior and mini sections or at best train in a very restricted environment. Too many of our players coming from deprived areas this is all they have that keeps them off the streets and allows them to meet good role models as well as it being a cheap way for them to keep fit an active.
We have over 100 kids aged 5 - 17 who have not been able to train. These kids have lost touch with their team mates and are losing out on social interaction.
Financially we are struggling to keep on top of every day expenses due to the lack of income from subs as everyone is feeling the burden of the current pandemic. Our other revenue streams such as functions, sponsors and matchday sales have all dried up due to no Rugby activity and strict government guidelines on opening up the club house. We haven't been able to use the clubhouse for functions for over 9 months which has left the club in a very precarious position.
Reason for funding
The purpose of this crowd funding appeal is to raise funds to help North Shields Rugby Club through this extremely challenging time brought about due to the Covid 19 situation.
Unfortunately the Covid crisis has hit us hard and our income has all but dried up. Our overheads remain the same with pitch maintenance, insurances, security, utilities and general maintenance taking a huge hit on our finances. We are doing this crowdfunder so we can survive this pandemic and make sure our doors are still open come the end of the pandemic.
How the money raised will be used
- Pitch Maintenance is crucial to allow us to continue with our activities when Covid rules relax.
- General club outgoings to allow us to continue to open.
- Help to support disadvantaged families in the community with clothing and equipment to allow them to participate in club activities.
Our efforts now turn to surviving and ensuring that the club will still be around for many years to come. We need your help as a community to help us survive.
Please support us through these hard times, all donations made will be used to keep the club operating and helping us to continue to play a vital role in our community.
Any donations received will be hugely appreciated. Please spread the work to friends and family.
Message from NSRFC Chairman
Over the last 10 months North Shields Rugby Club has went through a torrid time because of COVID-19 Pandemic.
Negligible funds have been coming in (due to club restrictions ad closures) whilst the normal running costs continue to come out with no end in sight.
The club now finds itself in a perilous position and needs to be thrown a finacial life line to survive.
To this end, the club has set this Crowd Funding Page Appeal to keep us afloat.
We appreciate that these are hard times for many people.
Please give as generously as you can afford to help us survive and hopefully reach our Centenary next year so we can continue to serve our local community.
Thank you in advance and take care.
Simon Forster
Chairman of Rugby
North Shields RFC.
USE OUR REWARD SCHEME
The Club and its supporters are kindly providing rewards for donations and pledges. We will add more rewards in time when possible.
This project successfully funded on 5th January 2021