A HAMPSHIRE touch rugby club has secured £15,000 to support its local pre-school for the next three years.
Broughton Touch Rugby Club completed a 100km hike along the Jurassic Coast in Dorset in 48 hours to raise the funds.
The club set itself a challenge of securing £3,000 in sponsorship to provide vital funding to Broughton Pre-School, which continually relies on donations.
However, owing to the generous contribution of local businesses and people, the total sum raised was more than £15,000.
The funds raised will go towards the upkeep of the pre-school – rated as ‘excellent’ by Ofsted - as well as general maintenance costs and key learning and developmental resources for children aged two to five-years-old.
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Izzy Birrell, organiser of the fundraising effort, said: “We’re hugely grateful to all those who have supported us in our fund-raising so far. The generosity of local firms and individuals will help secure educational needs across the villages of Broughton, Houghton, the Tytherleys and the wider area.
“As a rural community, we have limited access to other pre-school services, so are highly dependent on what we have within our villages. Securing enough funding to maintain the existence of our local pre-school means that we can support educational needs within Broughton, ensuring we can cut down on additional car travel for parents and reduce potential over-crowding in other local educational services.
Broughton Touch Rugby Club (Image: Contributed)
“I would like to especially thank our support crew for their help during the challenge, without which we couldn’t have completed the event.”
A key local sponsor of the challenge was Broughton business, and international bottled mineral water firm, Hildon.
Ashley Ramamoorthy, principal, said: “As a local business and employer, we recognise the challenges faced by local services in continuing to operate and are highly invested in ensuring that we are there to support local community needs. We would like to congratulate Broughton Touch Rugby Club on its completion of the challenge and are thrilled that the sum raised will provide support for the pre-school in the longer term.”
Fundraising will officially close on July 12. To donate, visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/jurassiccoast.
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