Garboldisham Cricket Club raises five figures to fuel hopes of repairs and improvements
A cricket club is hoping its lockdown woes can finally be hit for six after a crowd-funding campaign got off to a flying start – sailing over its initial £20,000 boundary.
Garboldisham Cricket Club, which was established in 1846, has been veritably bowled over by the generosity of its community, which has helped pad the club’s funds with a £25,000 in-crease in the first five weeks of crowd-funding.
The club had been struggling with a £30,000 deficit in its finances after the pandemic created a shortfall in funds collected from membership fees, match fees, bar takings and fundraising events.
The club has extra expenses to take care of in the coming months, such as refurbishing nets and site screens, along with updating and repairing its clubhouse.
The club also hopes to construct a score box for its second pitch.
Rob Fuller, a junior coach and club committee member, said: “We hoped to get to £20,000 in the first two months and we hit that early so we’re really pleased. We then stretched the target to £30,000, which will allow us to buy everything we need and renovate inside, too.
“We have the youth coaching sessions on Friday and parents often stop off for a beer and chat to each other outside, so it’s a social hub as well as being great for the kids.
“The last year has been a big hit for us financially, so having the local community support us in this way has really been massive.”
The funding link can be found in the club’s news pages at www.garbocc.co.uk.
For information on joining the club’s youth teams, call 01842 765503 or 07857 785516.