Who are we?
Chilworth Community Centre in Chilworth Old Village, Southampton.
We have a Community Centre and Tennis Court.
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Why are we crowdfunding?
The tennis court has been in regular use for over a decade since a major refurbishment, being maintained annually as required.
At present, the tennis court is unsafe due to moss on the surface and some degradation of the surface. Unfortunately, the uncertainty of the pandemic meant that use decreased and with it the income from annual memberships which had been being used to cover the cost of the court maintenance. Due to a lack of funds, the court has now become unplayable so we are looking to refurbish the court.
Now that sport can resume, the players who have used it in the past are keen to get playing but we don’t have the money to invest in the court to restore it. As a community, we miss the social element of playing on the Chilworth tennis court. We used to meet up in the summer evenings for a fun match and it would attract various users. One of our key user groups was an informal tennis club who are eager to get playing again for the physical, social and mental wellbeing benefits. The club is made up of various people from the area, families, single people and a few older people who really appreciate the benefits of playing tennis with families and friends.
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How we’ll spend the money raised
To bring the tennis court to a playable state by Cleaning and Moss Treatment, Repairs, Binding and Painting of the surface, and renewal of the net, for the community to use. It can then be maintained for several years and with the addition of a new online booking system, attract new community users to the court.
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Community impact
People will be able to continue and increase the level of activity in their lives by playing tennis in a rural setting and using the adjacent Community Centre green space. Others will be able to add an activity to their lives, increasing health and wellbeing as a result.
Visitors will be able to continue established activity and have opportunities to start a new activity.
People will experience the pleasure and benefits of participating in this open air activity including the social interaction with friends and family, together with the opportunities to expand their circles of acquaintances subsequently becoming friends. This will increase the cohesion of the community.
Once refurbished the court will be maintained so that established users can continue to enjoy the benefits and new users be attracted to add this activity to their lives. Visitors who have discovered the pleasure and benefits of tennis playing can be expected to continue when they return home and encourage their acquaintances to take up the sport in their own areas.
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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!