Target reached!
Any additional money will be used for the units instead of using club reserves.
Help Our Bowls Club Give a Warm Welcome
Bedford, United Kingdom
Aim
To keep members bowling throughout winter we need to install 4 new air conditioning units.These new ones will be greener and use less energy
Who are we?
Bedford Borough Bowling Club Indoor Green has 365 members and is based in the centre of Bedford. It was opened on 2nd November 1971 and is open for bowling 7 days a week, plus Monday and Friday evenings until 9pm.
As the only club in the centre of Bedford, our members are reflective of the diverse community in our area: young, old, retired and working, new bowlers and experienced, able-bodied, disabled and everyone in between.
During the winter months, Saturday mornings are devoted to a league for clubs from throughout the county, to play in a league sponsored by Eagle Travel,
The Club also hosts events on behalf of local businesses where staff use the bowling as an exercise and for team building.
All members are encouraged to play bowls for exercise and to meet socially for clubs, quizzes or just a cup of coffee and a friendly chat, with our onsite facilities including:
- a licensed bar,
- room for hire,
- indoor and outdoor bowling greens,
- our own car park.
The Impact of Covid 19
As with most social and sports clubs, we have been hit hard by the pandemic:
- In 2020, we were closed for eight months, re-opening in October after using the Club’s savings to install a specialist Fresh Air Ventilation Unit.
- November 2020 saw us closing our doors once more until a limited re-opening of our outdoor bowling rink in March 2021.
Many of our members were cautious about meeting up again with others, even in the fresh air, but gradually some returned.
- In late spring 2022 we were able to run a few outdoor and indoor bowling leagues.
The financial impact of these closures has been significant; we have lost in excess of £100,000 and our membership has reduced by 20%, all whilst having to continue to maintain the Club's facilities for that eventual return.
Our last Crowdfunding Campaign
In November 2021, our previous crowdfunding campaign, ‘Bedford Borough Bowling Along!’ successfully closed. With a focus on improving the fabric of the club as well as surviving that challenging time, we successfully raised just over £26,000 – THANK YOU to everyone who supported us! That fundraise not only helped us to survive, but also ensured we could return to play with facilities that are both welcoming and safe.
That funding has enabled us to begin some vital projects, including updating our technology and electrics, renovating our indoor carpet and increased the development of outreach into the local community. Our other projects are in development, which include the installation of a fire alarm system, refurbishment of our men’s toilets, revamping of the Club's entrance as well as refreshing the kitchen facilities and dining area.
A fresh start, but new challenges - why are we crowdfunding again?
Indoor bowling leagues will finally be able to fully return from October 2022, but we need to ensure that our players feel safe and supported over the winter months, with the right kind of Covid protocols in place.
Whilst we have the Fresh Air Ventilation Units in place, unfortunately our aged air-conditioning units, vital to heat and cool the building, have now failed and will cost £30,000 to replace. Fresh air into the Club is taken care of by the Fresh Air Ventilation Units, but they only provide air from outside, at whatever the outside temperature is.
Most of our members are over 65 – older people tend to feel the cold more; although they will be exercising, mobility problems can make their movements slower. Temperature requirements for an indoor bowling club ranges from 18 degrees on the bowling rink to 21 degrees in the social areas, so having the ability to control the heating is vital to enable us to continue to operate and ensuring our members, guests and visitors are safe and comfortable.
With the current energy crisis and increase in electricity charges, this additional expense will now have a big impact on the running costs of the Club. With limited income over the last two years, a reduction of 20% in our membership and the expenditure for maintenance of the club not reducing, we now find that we need to fundraise once more. The newer air conditioning units will use far less energy than our broken ones, so reduce our carbon footprint.
How we’ll spend the money raised
Our crowd funding last year was to improve the fabric of the Club, some of which projects have been planned and some are on-going.
This crowdfunding campaign is focused on replacing our vital air-conditioning and heating units, which will cost £30,000. This will enable the Club to keep the temperature comfortable all year round, allowing members to continue with the sport they love!
The newer units will be more cost-effective to run which is another reason why we are wanting to replace rather than spend money on trying to repair our broken units.
Our role within Bedford’s Community
The Club works closely with the local community and is committed to developing existing and new relationships, now and in the future. Currently we:
- host a visually impaired group, benefitting from reduced fees and who meet each week for a game of bowls and a chat in the bar afterwards.
- are soon to also host a group of hearing-impaired people who will challenge our coaches and bowlers on their communication skills (two of our coaches already have British Sign Language qualifications, which will assist with clearer communications).
- have recently contacted our local Parkinsons Society and the Club will shortly be offering our bowling facilities to them.
- have worked with ‘Booktastic - Bedfords Children’s Book Festival’ – bringing literature into our community. We helped with their advertising by hosting a banner, with flyers about a ‘Bowls Taster Drop-in Session’ given out at their event and in the local Place Theatre.
- host courses run on behalf of Bedford Borough Council: ‘Live Longer Better’ and ‘Active Adults’ taking place here at the Club
- provide a free meeting space for a local Muscular Sclerosis Charity as well as the Bedfordshire Prostate Cancer Support Group, who now meet monthly at the Club. This Support Group, originally founded in 2014 and operating out of The White Horse Pub in Newham Avenue, required a larger space in order to accommodate their growing numbers. We did not hesitate to welcome the group, free of charge, to continue their meetings at our Club - our members even managed to undertake their own fundraising efforts, achieving £1,400 in 2019.
Join our Club!
We work closely with the Borough Council’s Sport Development unit to encourage safe, friendly and welcoming participation experiences for new members. through various taster and introduction programmes.
We have a commitment to bring new members into our friendly and welcoming Club – many of our new members join our ‘Beginners League’, which runs on Tuesday evenings, giving real ‘match experience’ to new bowlers and we take special care that all new bowlers are included.
Why not come and give bowls a try yourself; claim the ‘Bowls Taster Session’ Reward and we look forward to showing you what we have to offer!
How you can play your part
There are some simple ways to help us reach our target and make this project a reality.
- Make a donation – every little helps.
- Purchase one of the fantastic Rewards that we have on offer.
- Become a member of the Club - we need you! Or sign up to one of our bowling taster sessions – try it out - its low impact exercise and great fun!
- Share this page on your own social media pages.
- Tell your friends, family, neighbours all about our campaign.
- By purchasing advertising – let our members know what your business can offer, or alternatively donate a Reward that we can add to our page!
Want to know more about our Club? Please do visit our website which has lots more information: www.boroughbowling.org.uk.
Commonwealth Games Effect
Many of our new members were inspired by the summer Commonwealth Games Bowls matches they saw on television recently. The skill that the players displayed has encouraged these members to try to improve their game and given more longstanding bowlers a renewed enthusiasm. We have had many enquiries from members of the public wanting information about bowls and one of our members attended the games as a volunteer and has expressed how she enjoyed the experience.
One of our partially sited members played bowls for England in the recent games.
Sport England - Places and Spaces has provided £10,000 of match funding
This project successfully funded on 14th November 2022