Community groups in and around Bradley Stoke are asking residents to vote for them in a nationwide competition that is offering £6,000 grants for local projects.
NatWest CommunityForce has been set up by the banking group to act as a platform to help local projects and charities raise awareness of their work.
In the North Bristol area, around 30 organisations are competing for three £6,000 grants. The three projects with the most votes when the competition ends at midday on Monday 24th October will win the awards.
The Journal has been contacted by two local groups, asking us to draw attention to the fact that they are taking part in the competition.
Stage Whisper Youth Theatre is a group for young people aged 10 plus, that meets in Patchway and is described as being “run by young people for young people.” The group says it would use the money to clean and decorate a room behind the stage at the Patchway Labour Club where it stores costumes and equipment. It will also replace the stage curtain and purchase lights, microphones and a sound desk.
Stoke Gifford Pre-School is a charity run pre-school that has been serving the community for over 40 years. Joint Chairperson Jane Marshall says that in this time many children from the Bradley Stoke area have attended or are attending the school now. If successful, the group says it would spend the award on equipment to enable the children to develop their appreciation of the local environment through increased outdoor play. It would also like to purchase kitchen items to allow the children to become involved with the preparation of food to further encourage healthy eating.
Other local organisations looking for votes include the Stoke Gifford Trust Ground Improvement Group, which would use the money to provide an enhanced basketball area, and Bristol Baseball Club (curiously shown on the NatWest website as being based in Bradley Stoke’s Wheatfield Drive), which is looking to build a new baseball field.
We managed to contact someone at Bristol Baseball Club, who explained:
“We had a field in Patchway last year and moved temporarily to Failand this year. We are working on a permanent location and have a few sites short-listed nearer to here (including back at Patchway). Until that is confirmed, my house [in Bradley Stoke] is as sensible a location for post (and related admin) as anywhere else!”
“Regardless of the permanent field location, we plan to work with Bradley Stoke Community School as well as Abbeywood, Patchway, and at least one other (Ridings probably) to set up a small springtime youth league, hopefully as soon as next year if the funding allows – hence the NatWest grant we hope to get!”