Community Fun Day
As you probably know, Felixstowe & Walton organised a Community Fun Day at the club last Sunday, hoping to raise over £3,000 to buy desperately needed new goalposts for our 20+ junior sides.
Despite the wind, which meant we unfortunately had to cancel the inflatables, it’s fair to say this was a very successful event and, as well as raising the money, there were plenty of people who told us how much they enjoyed the day. Many of them went home with prizes won from the raffles and the various games available on most of the stalls.
There was a mixture of sunshine, wind, hailstones (!) and dark clouds, but this was nowhere near enough to put people off. It’s estimated that something in the region of 1,000 people came through the doors, many donating immediately through the collection bucket by the entrance.
What has to be remembered is that around 30 people gave up their time for free to volunteer on a Sunday. When asked why they did that, they said it was simply because they love the club. You may want to check out the video of events, which will be available at the end of the week on Seasiders TV, where we talk to some of the volunteers involved.
Every single prize on offer on the day was donated free of charge, including the cakes and sweets, and a big thank you goes out to the local bakery that helped us.
Incidentally, all remaining food was donated to the Basic Charity Food Bank after the day’s event, expanding the community spirit even further.
Special mention has to go out also to young Oscar from the under 10s and his brother, Oliver, who is 8, who made and sold a number of Lucky Pebble Creatures, all painted and presented in their own individual boxes. These two young Seasiders raised an impressive £50+ for the club.
Facilities Manager Chris Daynes put a lot of hard work into organising the event and tweeted the following day:
“Thank you to everyone who supported our Community Fun Day on Sunday. We’re pleased to announce that we raised £3,235, smashing the target for renewing junior goalposts”
As well as the stalls mentioned above, there was face painting, a coconut shy, live bands and food and an all-day bar. There was also, of course, the big red fire engine, fully equipped with five volunteer firemen. Whilst a good number of children enjoyed climbing up into the cab, Christine Florey seemed to enjoy meeting the gentlemen firefighters as much as anyone.
Things got underway at midday and finished in the evening around half past nine. I say things started at midday but volunteers had been setting up from about nine that morning. And although things were wrapped up in the evening, there was plenty of tidying and clearing up and cleaning needed on the Monday morning.
Organising and even attempting events such as this shows just how much community spirit there is within the club. And there is a community outside of the club too, with a number of townspeople at the Fun Day who had no connection whatsoever with Felixstowe & Walton United. Who knows, perhaps one or two of them might return some time for other events or maybe to come and watch a game.
Full gallery of photos here
