Help us to raise funds for new Olympic class 'Laser' sailing dinghies and several kayaks to replace old and damaged boats.
by Westminster Boating Base in London, England, United Kingdom
We've super-stretched our target! We're aiming to buy additional sailing boats and kayaks to increase our ability to teach young people and adults on the river Thames. If we make the target figure we can get a second Laser sailing dinghy in addition to the one dinghy and several kayaks that we now have the funds for.
We need to purchase a new Olympic class "Laser" sailing dinghy and 6 kayaks to replace damaged boats and enable us to reach out and teach more people. We are reaching out to the more disadvantaged people in the community and new equipment will make it possible to add additional capacity and value to the sessions we provide. For your donation you'll get an exciting reward of your choosing!
With your help, we'll be able to replace one of our aging and broken "Laser" sailing dinghies which are over 25 years old! They've had so many repairs over the years that they are no longer competitive when we send our team to the London Youth Games and we're down to our last 2 boats that still float and they're hardly tiptop condition!
Being an Olympic class design its amazing to be able to sail a boat which you can watch Team GB racing in. They have 3 sail sizes which makes them very versatile for people of all sizes and abilities and whilst they are fast boats, they are also reasonably forgiving.
A new boat or two will give our young people a progression pathway, furthering their personal skills and creating opportunities for instructor development and to start sail boat racing competitively at events like the London Youth Games should they so choose.
We also need to purchase a handful of new general purpose kayaks and paddles to bolster our rather dilapidated fleet of boats and enable us to teach more young people to paddle, furthering our charitable mission. Our kayaks get very heavy use and although they are generally fairly robust, now and again they get broken beyond repair.
Our outreach programme to the more disadvantaged people in the community is primarily based around getting them out on the water in kayaks. New craft will enable us to increase participation in the programme alongside our regular activities.
A new Laser dinghy is around £4500, kayaks come in at around £600 each. We need to hit and exceed our initial target of £3800 if we're to get everything we want. All of the funds raised through this campaign will be spent on new equipment.
Our goal is to raise enough to buy the dinghy and the kayaks - around £8000 total. If we reach our stretch target of £12500, we'll be able to add a second Laser dinghy - but we don't get anything unless we hit our initial target so please help us.
Don't forget to Gift Aid your pledge if you're a UK taxpayer. As a charity we can claim an extra 25p in the pound back from the tax man since you've already paid tax.
As a charity, completely independent of the council or any unconditional local government funding, we have to raise the money to keep the doors open to young people who we only charge a token £10 per year for youth membership which opens the door to our 5 day a week core activities. Perhaps your child has sailed or kayaked with us and you'd like to give a bit extra?
We raise two thirds of our income via our venue and through adult watersports. The remaining third is raised through actively seeking donations from individuals and corporate sponsorship, applying for grants and any other ways we can think of to get the money in.
This is our first attempt at crowdfunding and we are doing it in conjunction with London Sport and this Crowdfunder website. Ten charities have been chosen and it's an all-or-nothing fund so we've got to hit our target! If we do, not only do we get the new sail boat and kayaks but we're also in with a one in ten chance of receiving an award from London Sport and Crowdfunder - potentially worth a further £2500 on top of what we raise!
Not only will you feel all warm inside from the knowledge that you've done a great service to the community, but if you're a user of WBB, you'll be able to take advantage of the new equipment too.
But not only that! We've also got lots of awesome rewards available for your pledge so help us to hit our target and make it happen for all our members, users and potential users!
For more on Youth Membership and all the sessions and activities included, click HERE
For more on Powerboat Driving, click HERE
For more on Go Kayaking Canoeing sessions, click HERE
For more on Go Sailing sessions, click HERE
For more on Adult Season tickets click HERE
Our awesome T-shirts here (sizes available are Small, Medium, Large and X-Large - until stock runs out):
Yak Paddle mitts:
Typhoon Long-john wetsuits:
A 3 hour land-based session with Chris Shaw of Uberfit personal training covering nutrition, flexibility, core stability and balance improvement. A personalised session which you will reap the rewards of when you're out on the water. Maximum of 4 in the group. www.uber-fit.co.uk
Pledge: £1500
A training scheme for one of the following sports: dinghy sailing, kayaking and canoeing and powerboating - suitable for someone over the age of 16 years teaching personal skills from beginner to instructor level and providing NGB qualifications. The course will start in April 2017 and conclude end of September 2017. The more you put in, the more you get out.
Sessions provided will be from our 2017 weekly session schedule.
WBB will provide:
(secondhand, virtually new condition)
This project offers rewards in return for your donation. Please select a reward below.