As you all know, we are now in new temporary premises at Aston House which has answered the problem of training on Tuesdays and Thursdays and given us our own premises. However the meeting of July 3rd gave the committee your mandate to look for new sites on which we could develop our own premises – in doing this we would become one of the premier running clubs in the South West, not only Cornwall. This search looks as though it could be about to bear fruit.
The new designs currently on the notice board at Aston House have been shared with the Estates Office at Caradon District Council and given an initial “thumbs up” subject to a more detailed site plan being made available and a meeting with the planners. To secure a longer term lease we will be tasked to prove that we could raise sufficient monies (either as a club, by corporate sponsorship or by lottery grant) to build the new premises and as part of this we need you to become involved in the next stage of the development.
We realise that not every family will be able to afford to contribute (and some may choose not to) but we now need to gauge your own involvement in the next stage of the development of your club premises. This could be by a lump sum (preferably) or by standing order over one or two years of whatever you think you can afford. But to give an example: if half of our members could afford to commit £25 per month for a year (£12.50 per month over two years) we would raise over £50,000. What you get in return is a purpose built club house facility, social venue – and the move towards being a premier club. Additionally it is the club’s intention to try to repay these investors (if possible) over a period of years.
So we would like you to treat this as an open request – positive replies to John Smith(Smudger)* – could you, would you, will you sign up to a pledge by lump sum or by monthly payment? Obviously if you want to offer more than a nominal figure we won’t turn it away, but £50, £150, £300 – they all add up. Additionally, if you have your own business you may want to consider a donation from your business by way of corporate sponsorship and perhaps create a tax break in this way. Whatever way you contribute and how much will be up to you but the more the merrier as many hands will make light work of these figures. Pledge forms will be available at the Club.
On top of this we now need a Fund-raising and Development Committee to help with these matters. If you want to be involved in these exciting times please let John know – rest assured that no idea will be turned away without consideration – 100 Clubs, raffles, lotteries all need someone to run them. If you don’t wish to be on any committee but have good ideas let John or one of the main committee know.