National Lottery awards us £10,000

We are delighted to announce that our very own charity, Stafford Rangers in the Community, has been awarded a magnificent £10,000 National Lottery grant to run a series of sports camps during school holidays, providing food and free activities for families who are struggling due to the cost-of-living crisis.

The camps, for children aged 6-16, will provide a range of sports including football, dodgeball, mini cricket, physical literacy programmes and day trips out. They will also provide children with a meal at lunchtime. The sports camps are designed to Improve the health and well-being of children, help them make new friends and prevent boredom and anti-social behaviour.

Stafford Rangers in the Community chairman John Macmillan, thanked the charity’s Community Engagement Officer Andy Turner for all his hard work for the charity to date and in particular in securing this grant, and said:

“The camps, which will be run by qualified coaches, will be free for everyone. Many of the families we will be supporting are struggling in the cost-of-living crisis, and providing a meal for the children will ease some of the additional financial strains of the school holidays”.

In addition, the grant will enable the charity to hold community get together days, open to all members of the public, and run by members of staff who live in the local community and volunteers. Further details of these will be announced in due course.

For more information about Stafford Rangers in the Community and what it has achieved so far and how you can support its work, visit our ‘In the Community‘ page.

STAFFORD RANGERS IN THE COMMUNITY

Thank-You Eric

Eric Robins our super-fan has decided to bring his activities at the club to an end and writes the article below. Everyone at Stafford Rangers thanks Eric for his amazing contribution over the years he has been a magnificent ambassador for the Rangers and whilst we will still see him supporting the team he loves; we hope that he now gets the opportunity to chill and relax a little more.

Thank you, Eric, for your commitment, loyalty, and passion!

On Thursday 5th January we will be marking our 77th Lottery Draw since its launch in August 2016.I will also be 77 later in January and regrettably, due to my deteriorating health, I have decided to resign from the Lottery Committee. I am sad to do this, but I must put my health first and no longer feel I can give the commitment to the work I would need to do each month to ensure that the Lottery runs smoothly.

During the last 6 ½ years the Lottery has grown and now has membership of 319. I am pleased to announce that gross income has recently passed the £150,000 mark. This has resulted in the region of £80,000 being used for many infrastructure projects, as well as providing funding for pitch and ground maintenance. Prize money has amounted to £48,700 with a total of 231 wins, with people winning more than once. The remaining balance of £13,370 was paid out in agents’ commission and bank/go cardless and sage charges.

The success of the Lottery is due to our Lottery Members, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for supporting both me and the Lottery during this last 6 ½ years and I hope you will all continue to support it and encourage friends to join. It would be great if membership could be raised to 500 as the money raised is so vital to the football club’s continued development.

In conclusion, I hope the club can get a replacement to work on the Lottery in 2023. I did give the club 3 months’ notice of my intention to retire and know that discussions are taking place.

I have enjoyed my 6 ½ years working on the Lottery but now is the time for someone younger to get involved.

Best wishes to all our Lottery Members for 2023 and please continue to ‘Boost the Boro!’

Eric Robins