Meanwood Cricket Club - 151 Not Out Campaign

Aim

Meanwood CC turned 150 in 2020 but due to COVID19 our plans were ruined and we now need your support to help repair our ageing facilities

Hello!

Meanwood Cricket is one of the oldest cricket clubs in Leeds and in 2020 we were due to celebrate our 150th anniversary. Unfortunately as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic instead of having a summer of celebrations we had empty pitches and degradation to our old and crumbling facilities.

Now in 2021, our 151st year, we are in urgent need of funds to help repair and upgrade our facilities in order to ensure our long term future as we recover following the pandemic.

A cricket club at the heart of its community

Meanwood Cricket Club is at the heart of a fantastic local community: providing opportunities for children and adults of all ages to learn and develop their cricketing skills whilst supporting and improving their physical and mental wellbeing.

In 2019 we established a partnership with five local primary and high schools in the area, paying for a qualified coach to provide curricular and extra curricular cricket classes. Our vision is to grow local children's interest in cricket and naturally progress towards developing a new junior cricket section. We are also a focal point for the local community hosting events such as the Meanwood Family Fun Day and several charity fundraisers throughout the summer. 

The COVID pandemic has severely impacted the progress we have made and we are desperate to reignite these efforts and attract more juniors, families and adults to the club to provide us with the bodies and revenue that will help us survive and maintain our grounds and facilities for the benefit of the whole community.

The Effect of COVID-19 on Meanwood CC

The pandemic has shattered sporting communities across the country and Meanwood CC is no exception. As a result of COVID-19 restrictions, 2020 has been a tough year financially for our club. In 2019 the club raised £4837 through membership subscriptions, sponsors and fundraising events, in 2020 this fell to just £809, a drop in annual income of 83%. The impact of the pandemic continues to be felt in 2021 as the annual community festival has been cancelled due to the pandemic meaning that we will not be able to host our biggest fundraising day of the year. Despite the loss of income, fixed costs such as rent, insurance and utilities meant the club still had to pay £3565 in expenses in 2020. Added to this, social distancing rules prevented us from carrying out ongoing maintenance work to our club house during the first lockdown and as a result some broken guttering caused water damage to our pavilion walls and a timber staircase. As a result our facilities are no longer safe and fit for purpose limiting the amount of cricket we can offer and the growth of our junior section which is so vital to our long term survival. This is all at a time when our income had been severely reduced.

What is the 151 Not Out Crowdfunding Campaign?

The club has launched this Crowdfunder to fund repairs and restoration to our pavilion and practice facilities. Our goal is to create a safe and inclusive environment that is able to accommodate further growth of our junior cricket section.

Sport England have launched an initiative called ‘Active Together’ and are helping not for profit organisations who help their community stay physically active launch Crowdfunding campaigns to help them recover following the pandemic. We have applied to take part in this campaign and are hopeful that if we meet our fundraising target, the amount we have raised will be matched by Sport England. We are therefore aiming to raise £5000 through our Crowdfunding campaign and if we manage this we hope that Sports England will match this with another £5000!

If we can raise £10,000 through this campaign this is what we will do;

* Replace our torn and hazardous all-weather training strip so that we can increase the number of sessions that we are able to hold each week and provide better facilities that will enable our junior members to learn and develop their skills more effectively. (Anticipated cost of £5000)

* Carry out much needed repairs and improvements to our pavilion including the repair of broken guttering and external staircase, re-rendering of damaged walls and stripping and repainting of the building. This will ensure that our facilities are safe and fit for use. (Anticipated cost of £2,500)

* Repair paths and maintain our boundaries by filling in potholes and cutting back weeds and overgrown vegetation to make our ground more accessible and compliment our picturesque surroundings making us more attractive to families and the wider community (Anticipated cost of £1,500)

* Create a child friendly play area by removing unused features and replacing with a mud kitchen and safe space to play. This will help us attract younger families to the club providing a great space for younger ones to play whilst parents or older siblings take part in cricket training sessions and games. (Anticipated cost of £500) 

Children are the Future!

Through our work with the schools in the local area, we are extremely close to establishing a junior cricket section at Meanwood for the first time in over 10 years! Initially, we plan to become a part of the ECB All Stars Initiative. All Stars Cricket provides a fantastic first experience for boys and girls aged 5-8 years old where they’re guaranteed 8 weeks of jam-packed fun, activity and skills development. The programme is designed to introduce children to the sport, teaching them new skills, helping them make new friends and have a great time doing so.  We also planning to participate in the ECB Dynamos cricket initiative (8-11 years), Dynamos provides children with a more social offer focused on developing fundamental movement skills and applying them in an exciting game of countdown cricket. If we are successful with both of these initiatives, we hope to the be able to establish a competitive junior team by next season. In order to be able to offer these programmes we need to ensure that our facilities are safe and fit for purpose. Without an influx of new, young, enthusiastic juniors, we will not be able to continue to function and serve the community we hold so dear!

Thank You

Meanwood Cricket Club was formed to provide recreational activities for residents who worked in the local industries. Its very existence is entwined with the needs of its community and this reciprocal relationship has enabled the club to not only survive but thrive for over 150 years whilst many other clubs have disappeared. The COVID-19 pandemic has threatened our survival however we are determined to survive this difficult period and continue for another 150 years and beyond! Thank you for your support.

This project successfully funded on 2nd July 2021