Schools Urge Community to Support New Pitch Campaign
Two schools within the region are calling on the community to help it reach a fundraising target which will allow them to build a brand-new community football pitch at each school's respective site.
Ferndale Primary School in Great Barr and Coventry’s Park Hill Primary School have both been successful in applying to become part of Mini Pitches; an initiative launched by online giving platform Neighbourly in partnership with The Football Association and its delivery partner, the Football Foundation.
Both schools have a fundraising target of £20,000 which, if successfully met, will be supplemented by up to £100,000 of funding by The FA and Football Foundation.
As a result, Ferndale Primary School and Park Hill Primary School are calling on local businesses and members of their respective communities to help them achieve their goal, which will in turn deliver facilities that will make a huge difference to current pupils and children in the future.
Supporters can help the schools by following their respective project pages on Neighbourly. Please click on the relevant link below to visit the school’s project page.
The Mini Pitches initiative is designed to create a healthy, more active generation of children by providing high quality community sports spaces in primary schools. The partnership between The FA, Football Foundation and Neighbourly aims to help both West Midlands schools build a community of supporters, who will help them reach their fundraising goal.
The estimated cost of a project is £65,000 for a pitch installation, or £120,000 for the installation of a pitch and development of changing rooms. Once both schools achieve their £20,000 target, the remaining sum for the project will be delivered courtesy of a grant from The FA, Premier League and Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
Between now and May 2018, Birmingham Football Association is calling on the public and businesses local to each school to support their campaign in any way possible – and help deliver an exciting new multi-use pitch. Donations are sought through parents, family members, businesses or any clubs that could benefit from the mini pitch.
Dominic Hammond, Head Teacher at Park Hill Primary School, said: “We’re extremely excited to have been chosen as one of the participants of Mini Pitches. Not only will our own pitch help our pupils be more active on a regular basis, we also hope it will provide a vital resource for our community sports groups. We would like our families, friends and local businesses to get involved and help us raise the money we need." Oliver Hitchcox, Facility Development Officer at Birmingham FA, added: "We’re really excited to be working with these two schools on the Mini-Pitch programme. The project will provide both schools with fantastic facilities, which will not only help to engage with more pupils playing football but also their wider communities. It would be fantastic to see as many people and businesses as possible help each school reach their fundraising target to help make this happen.”
If successful in fundraising, both pitches are due to be completed and opened in July 2018.
For more information, please visit https://www.neighbourly.com/minipitches or visit each school’s respective project page.