Presentation Evening - 16th Jan 2006
The aim of the '77 Committee is not only to put on a grand fireworks display, but also to raise money for local projects, organisations and charities. After the 2005 display, we were able to give donations totalling £4500 to 12 local causes, and held the presentation evening on Monday 16th January 2006 in the Wilburton Baptist Chapel.
The Chairman of the '77 Committee, Alan Brierly, hosted the presentations, and started by saying that the 2005 event had been very successful, with a lot of effort put in by all those involved - with one of the rewards of the event is being able to support local charities and organisations.
The Haddenham Scouts were the first to receive their cheque, together with thanks for their assistance in helping clear the recreation ground after the event. They said that they want to spend the money of some fun - including Kayaking.
Alan thanked the Ely Police for their presence at the event, which is well attended and now has a large sized crowd. The Police chose to pass on their donation to a local cause, nominating the First Wilburton Brownies to receive it. Catherine Blundell and Georgie Heaton accepted the cheque, and said that it was a "huge surprise", and had not yet decided what to spend the money on - but would be consulting the girls. The First Wilburton Brownies have been in the village for 3 years now, having been resurrected after the original Brownies folded. They currenly have around 20 Brownies.
The Wilburton Cricket Club were next to receive their cheque with thanks for the assistance they give us in setting out the event. John Gothard said that the money would go towards new bats, balls and setting the cricket square up.
Viv Samuel and Alan Marsden accepted their cheque for the Wilburton Theatre Group, saying that the Theatre Group is now in its 31st year, and is well supported by the village and surrounding area. Productions are to a high standard, and ticket sales just about cover the cost of each production so any additional funding such as this goes towards enhancing the Theatre Group - an example being the recent enhancements to the village hall for lighting and sound.
Next Alan presented a cheque to one of the few organisations from outside of Wilburton to receive a donation - Tinderbox in Aldreth, which is used by residents of Wilburton as somewhere to go with their babies and young children. Sally Johnson said that Tinderbox requires around £1500 a year to keep going, and fund raising is a difficult task, and thanked the Committee for considering them this year.
The CAMTAD donation was collected by Sue Hempstead and John Smith - John is the village volunteer for CAMTAD who help hearing impaired people in the Cambridgeshire area, but as core funding is difficult to obtain, each village needs to find local funding. Sue continued "Deafness is one of the less known disabilities, so any help is much appreciated, and will help the elderly in the area".
Alan thanked the Wilburton Baptist Chapel for the use of their room for the presentations, and presented Anthea 'Tup' Dodson with a cheque which she said will go towards a new heating system for the Baptist Chapel. The Wilburton Baptist Chapel has been in existence for some 200 years, and the heating system is now 50 years old - although it still works, it can take a long time to heat up the rooms! Tup added that the Chapel holds prayer time every Sunday morning for anyone who needs support, regardless of whether they are a member of the Church or not.
Next Alan thanked the Scout Fellowship for their help with supervising car parking on the night of the event, they do an important job for the Committee. Michael Angel and Richard Miles from the Scout Fellowship accepted the cheque and said the they were hoping to sponsor a Scout from one of the seven Ely District Scout Association groups to attend the 2007 World Scout Jamboree to be held in Hylands Park, Chelmsford.
Paul Freeman, Chairman of HEART, congratulated the Committee on an excellent firework display - and thanked them for the continued support. HEART have recently been making an annual loss of around £1000, which is eating into their reserves, so a donation such as that given by the '77 Committee was most welcome. He continued to explain a little more about HEART, in that they are now doing less and less for the Haddenham Surgery and more and more for the local community - including a chiropody service, and work with the residential sheltered accommodations in the HEART area. They also have an increasing amount of recurring costs, such as lifeline telephones for older people. HEART is the Haddenham Equipment And Resuscitation Trust, serving Aldreth, Haddenham, Stretham and Wilburton.
Sarah Thompson accepted on behalf of Humpties Pre-School and gave a sincere thank you to the Committee, saying that the money would make a big difference. Recently Humpties have had real financial difficulties - to the extent of having to close in November 2005 as they could not afford to pay the staff. But core funding and a well attending money raising event have helped get Humpties back on track (dare I say put Humpties back together again?). The Committee donation will go towards completing a gardening project - including putting a path across a muddy grass area.
Wilburton Baptist Baby and Toddler Group were next to receive a cheque - Beth Dyason said that last year they spent the donation on 3 new easels, chalk and paints for the group - which the kids enjoy. After clearing out the cupboard recently, they decided that there is a need for more educational toys for the group.
The Wilburton Youth Group were the last to receive a cheque - Jenny Wren said that the donation will go a long way to help run the Youth Group, which requires around £3500 a year to run. They have recently got 2 new youth workers, and promise that the Youth Group will be bigger and better than ever.
The '77 Committee would like to thank all those who help us to organise and run the fireworks event each year, without the help of others the event would not be able to take place, and we would not be able to raise the money that we do. If you wish to help us next time, the please get in touch.
