Preston Sports Club Ltd has been awarded a brilliant £5,000 of funding through SPAR’s Community Cashback initiative.
Located at the Westcliff Ground in South Meadow Lane, Preston Sports Club Ltd is home to both Preston Cricket Club and Preston Hockey Club, and the cricket ground’s outfield is also utilised by BAC/EE Junior Football Club in the winter months.
The club has a long history at the Westcliff Ground, with the clubhouse dating from 1859, and the venue hosted the Preston Guild 1882 Sports Day. More than 140 years on, it is the burgeoning junior section which is the club’s future, and the funding will be invested into professional coaching to harness young potential within its membership.
SPAR independent retailer Ajay Chapanery, whose SPAR store in Hawkhurst Road is just across the River Ribble from Preston Sports Club, was pleased to attend Westcliff Ground to meet members and handover the cheque alongside Retail Sales Advisor Janet Anforth of James Hall & Co. Ltd.
Simon Marshall, Chair of Preston Sports Club Ltd, said: “On behalf of the club and the entire membership, I want to express our deep gratitude to SPAR for supporting the club. We are an amateur sports club run wholly by volunteer effort so the funding will make a huge difference.
“The club really is a hub of activity all year round. In total, our playing membership is around 450 people, with around 200 of our members being aged 21 or under. With visiting teams and external hire, around 5,000 individuals benefit from using our facilities every year.
“The long-term success of the club is driven by vibrant junior sections that then feed into the adult sections. To nurture and sustain that young talent, we will fund hundreds of hours of professional coaching to benefit our junior section while at the same time improve our volunteer coaching resources by supporting them to become qualified.”
SPAR Community Cashback returned more popular than ever in its fourth consecutive year and James Hall & Co. Ltd, SPAR’s primary retailer, wholesaler and distributor for the North of England, received 1,400 applications from charities and organisations across the North.
Nationally, more than 65 charities and local groups have shared a £100,000 grant fund this year, and since Community Cashback launched in 2021, grants have been awarded to nearly 200 organisations, highlighting SPAR’s long-term commitment in supporting local communities.
Ajay Chapanery said: “As a local Preston retailer, it was an honour to visit Preston Sports Club’s Westcliff Ground and handover a cheque for such a value on behalf of SPAR.
“The ground is a hidden gem in the city. It is great that SPAR has recognised the hard work by volunteers that has gone into growing the number of junior players at the club and the improvements achieved with the facilities in recent years.
“Our SPAR store has been in the family since 1984, and we have always strived to support and give back where we can, which is why I take so much pride in being asked to represent SPAR and its Community Cashback initiative.”
James Hall & Co. Ltd is a fifth-generation family business which serves a network of independent SPAR retailers and company-owned SPAR stores across Northern England six days a week from its base at Bowland View in Preston.
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