£25,000 donation gets Hayling Island community on the move – by sea and road!

A £25,000 donation from The Southern Co-operative community support scheme is helping to fund a much needed new school minibus for Mengham Junior School and new boat for Langstone Cutters Gig Club to get pupils and club members on the road and sea.

The community support scheme is a way for local charities and good causes to raise funds with the backing of customers, but without costing shoppers a penny to support. The recipients are chosen by members of The Southern Co-operative who shop and work at the participating store to ensure that the funding directly benefits the local community. The Southern Co-operative’s Retail Business Manager on Hayling Island, Pete Raynor, said: “Yet again, we’ve had great support locally for our community support scheme, our customers have been amazing and we wouldn’t have done this without them. This has been another great opportunity to help us donate much needed funds to two first-rate local good causes and it’s a proactive way that The Southern Co-operative can work closely with Hayling Island’s community and make a positive contribution to our local neighbourhood.”

Robina Bream, Secretary of Langstone Cutters Gig Club, which is receiving £5000 from the scheme, said: “It means so much to our club to be in receipt of The Southern Co-operative’s community support scheme’s generous donation. Our club was formed in January 2013 with 17 members, we now have 94 members at the last count, and the only way that we have been able to operate is by leasing 2 boats. The membership has been working hard raising funds and together with £5000 from The Southern Co-operative, we are now in a position to purchase our own boat. This is immensely important to us as it is a requirement of the Cornish Pilot Gig Association that we own a boat within 2 years of initiating the club in order to become Full members. We now have a thriving Junior section and we shall be able to take them, together with our boat to the Junior championships in Newquay in September.

We are very proud to be the first Cornish Pilot Gig club in Hampshire and only recently held our First CPGA Regatta, attracting competitors from Weymouth, Portland and Swanage. The ethos of 'Community' is at the heart of this exciting sport which is proving extremely popular on Hayling Island. Thank you!”

A £20,000 donation to Mengham Junior School is being used to fund a new community minibus,. Headteacher Wendy Bolton explained; “At Mengham Junior School we regularly use our school mini bus to take the children out for swimming lessons and inter school competitions.

This new mini bus will benefit all of the community for example; Scouts, Boys Brigade, Brownies, and Hayling Lions.”