Save Euxton Canoe Club

Aim: We're raising £20,000 to help keep young people on the water after our club was hit by an arson attack.

We're Euxton Canoe Club

Euxton Canoe Club is an active community of around 100 members.

We introduce hundreds of people every year from around Chorley, Coppull and Euxton, to the joys of paddling kayaks and canoes on a non-profit basis via our diverse and inclusive lake sessions for learners.

Our kayaks got melted :(

On 30th August, arsonists set our storage containers alight, melting almost our entire fleet of 30 canoes and kayaks and destroying half our pool of buoyancy aids, cags and paddles.

This equipment is used to run events for the community - by club members who don't have their own equipment or by youth and community groups whom we introduce to the water.

We need money to buy boats

We have some insurance that may help us replace some equipment secondhand, only if we're able to find things for sale at prices things were at before Covid.

We never dreamed of a total loss like this, so we are not be able to replace most of the kit without assistance.

We want the club to survive... but it can't without kayaks

As so much equipment has been lost - the very viability of the club is being called into question. While we have a strong membership keen to be on the water and a vibrant 50-person youth section eager to develop their skills - with a loss on this scale, it's not clear we can continue without outside support.

We've asked British Canoeing for help

We've reached out to British Canoeing, Sport England, National Lottery River Legacy, and local councils to ask for support and are yet to receive any offers of financial help.

If you can support us - by donating a few pounds, sharing this with your friends or putting us in touch with someone who can help us in this emergency - we'd be very grateful.

What will the money be spent on?

Our priority is to get our youth groups and young people able to get back on the water again. We want to show our young people the community's strength and unity in the face of adversity.

I don't have much money. What can I do to help?

That's ok.

Can you share the story with others?

Do you know someone who might be able to help?

If you can help us get people to help, donate money or support us - we'll be forever grateful to you. Everyone is in different situations, and even if you can't donate, we're happy to have you on our side.

What's the value of everything you've lost?

While we're currently trying to assess the situation, we believe we probably have suffered £50,000 of damage from this attack.

So far, we know we've lost

• 30 kayaks and canoes
• Almost all our paddles, cags and BAs

This includes all of our kit designed for children - a particular challenge as these sizes are often hard to come by and often eyewateringly expensive as a result.

We're currently still assessing if our two shipping containers are water tight and ok or are damaged beyond repair.

Is this the first time this has happened?

On 30th July, one of our other containers was set on fire, resulting in the loss of 2 sea kayaks, 2 Canadian canoes and a good deal of cags and spray decks. 

We believed that we would be able to recover from this with insurance - and our claim is still pending.

We never imagined our other container would fall victim so soon after this, with such devastating results.

Have you tried talking to ... ?

We've probably tried the people we think we can get to help - but you may know someone better. Do you have a contact at a manufacturer? At a governing body? At a retailer? At a grant giver? Can you ask them if they can help us on our behalf? We're very keen to talk to anyone but don't have the time to reach out to everyone ourselves.

Who's behind this campaign?

Jonathan McElhinney

Chair of Euxton Canoe Club

Will you try and get in the local press?

Here we are in the Lancashire Evening Post

How can I get in touch with you?

Email: message our Media Coordinator - Tim Dobson on facebook .

Can I see some photos?

What did things look like before this?

This project successfully funded on 28th September 2022