3/1/2008

Woking

Letters from January 3 2008

Club is here for good of community

 Editor — I would like to reply to the letter by Mr R Whitehand (Right to Limit ‘Handouts’, News and Mail, December 13).

Mr Whitehand has used the club’s application for a grant to justify his point of view but has made some factual errors which I would like to rectify.

The club is a registered charity which has been in existence since 1985 with a purpose to provide affordable gymnastics to the population of Woking and it is not a commercial organisation as mentioned. Secondly, the application for a grant, to assist the charity in making repairs to the roof, was for a maximum of 50% of the repair costs which equates to approximately £35,000 which is in line with council rules.

Mr Whitehand goes on to mention that the club is relatively well funded but unfortunately, and like most charitable organisations, this is not the case and we continue to struggle to make ends meet each year.

The club has been working with the council for 10 years with the aim to move to a better facility which will enable the club to further assist the council in providing gymnastics to a wider spectrum of the population. Part of the agreement is for the club to part fund the move and all reserves were set aside for that purpose.

As a result of the emergency repairs, we have now used those reserves which have taken 10 years of fundraising to accumulate.

The club is extremely popular and very well thought of and it is our intention to continue that good work as best we can considering our financial constraints.

We will continue to work with the council no matter the outcome of the grant application.
Jonathan Fudge
Treasurer
Woking Gymnastics Club

First printed in: Woking News and Mail