Athletics club lands £5,000 from housebuilder
At the Persimmon Homes Healthy Communities gala dinner for finalists, from left: Martyn Clark, Managing Director of Persimmon Homes Thames Valley and Jackie Tobin from Basingstoke and Mid Hants Athletics Club
A SPORTING group has been handed a cheque for £5,000 in a national competition.
Basingstoke and Mid Hants Athletics Club received the money through the Persimmon Healthy Communities scheme which saw the housebuilder give away £435,000 to 30 finalists.
Persimmon Homes Thames Valley chose the club as its winner after being impressed with the club’s campaign to raise funds for a covered stand at its Down Grange track.
The stand will hold 200 spectators and provide a sheltered space for athletes along with an education area for coaches and officials, toilets, changing areas and indoor training facilities.
The Healthy Communities competition went to a public vote where all 30 finalists battled to receive Persimmon Homes’ top prize of £200,000.
All of the finalists were invited to attend a gala dinner at York Racecourse on Thursday last week where 27 organisations received £5,000 for getting to the final stage of the competition.
Martyn Clark, managing director at Persimmon Homes Thames Valley, said: “The Healthy Communities scheme has been a great success and we had a brilliant evening at York Racecourse celebrating the fantastic work of these special sporting clubs.
“We have been overwhelmed by both the response to the competition, and the hard work of those involved within the sporting clubs, who work exceptionally hard to train the next generation of sporting heroes.”
Thousands of groups and individuals applied for monthly donations of £750 to pay for kit and equipment and as part of their entry had to say what they would spend the £200,000 on if they were lucky enough to win the top prize.
