By completing an arduous 100km hike along the Jurassic Coast in Dorset in 48hours, a local men’s Touch Rugby Club has secured enough financial support to maintain its catchment pre-school for the next 3 years.
Broughton Touch Rugby Club set themselves a challenge of securing £3,000 in sponsorship to provide vital funding to Broughton Pre-School, which continually relies on contributions and donations to help make up the shortfall between the amount received for 3- & 4-year-olds under Universal & Extended Funding from Government, and the pre-school’s running costs.
However, owing to the generous contribution of local businesses and individuals, along with the Club’s tenacity in completing their hike, the total sum raised was over £15,000 – enough to support the pre-school for the next 3 years.
The funds raised by the Club will go towards the upkeep of the pre-school – rated as ‘excellent’ by Ofsted – as well as general maintenance costs and key learning and developmental resources for children aged 2 – 5 years.
Speaking on completion of the hike, Izzy Birrell, organiser of the fund-raising effort said: “We’re hugely grateful to all those who have supported us in our fund-raising so far. The generosity of local firms and individuals will help secure educational needs across the villages of Broughton, Houghton, the Tytherleys and the wider area.”
“As a rural community, we have limited access to other pre-school services, so are highly dependent on what we have within our villages. Securing enough funding to maintain the existence of our local pre-school means that we can support educational needs within Broughton, ensuring we can cut down on additional car travel for parents and reduce potential over-crowding in other local educational services.”
“I would like to especially thank our support crew for their help during the challenge, without which we couldn’t have completed the event.”
A key local sponsor of the challenge was Broughton business, and international bottled mineral water firm, Hildon. Expressing its support for the fund raising, Ashley Ramamoorthy, Principal, said: “As a local business and employer, we recognise the challenges faced by local services in continuing to operate and are highly invested in ensuring that we are there to support local community needs. We would like to congratulate Broughton Touch Rugby Club on its completion of the challenge and are thrilled that the sum raised will provide support for the pre-school in the longer term.”
Fund raising will officially close on 12th July 2024 but until then any individuals wishing to contribute donations are able to here: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/jurassiccoast
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