“Our five year plan is nothing more than to survive ... and to scour the internet for second hand machines”


seed. Yes I know I might be late, but I have only just got on to seeds in the book. Our budget and finance is basically down to whatever we can find grants to apply for. We manage quite well on about £15k a year, but the biggest let down in the last 12 months has been the Football Foundation. Put in place to help grassroots football, it has made us jump through hoops and really demoralised the Board of Trustees. We asked for help for a small astro pitch to save the winter training costs of £3400, but we were told we could not look after it properly. We desperately need fencing to keep people out with their dogs and motorbikes and especially joy riders that have messed up pitches big time this season. But our grant for £100k seems to have gone down the plug hole and we are left with nothing but a gate I made out of old goal posts to stop cars at least.


A lot of money from the


Football Foundation has gone to league club for the Football in the Community, but we do that as well and in some cases better. We have concentrated on coaches with our budget this year and we now have three UEFA B coaches, four Level 2’s and ten level 1’s. We have put 14 child protection officers through courses and still no money to help with facilities. With the six pitches, we get no help at all except from dog owners and mini-bikes!!! Fathers and mothers step in sometimes to help and we have regular once-a-month working weekends and that is about it. It does not seem that the Football Foundation are going to give us anything, probably because I have got a problem of telling it as it is and not playing their games to enable them to get the full publicity for whatever they do.


Our five year plan is nothing more than to survive


and try to pick up a second hand garage to keep machinery in and to scour the internet for second hand machines that can give us a few years service and very cheap prices. A fertiliser plan has not been put on the agenda because we could not even think of buying fertiliser. As for getting recognition, well I did win a trophy last year for the Chamber of Commerce Contribution to the Community - Voluntary sector Award, but I did not go and collect it. Instead we hired out the black tie and stuff for one of our needy couples to go and have dinner and collect it for me. They had a great time. The trophy is nice as well but we could have done with some money or fencing. I, and the rest of the Board


of Trustees, have had a great time in the last four years and we are all aware of the hard work ahead of us. It does worry us a little but we


have to be aware of what we are doing it for and, in this low income area of Milton Keynes, the girls really deserve it. It has been fun riding the Scag and I have found a new lease of life. I have also enjoyed learning about ground care. I have enjoyed reading the forums and I have learned a lot from them. But, I would urge any organisation out there to realise that there are charities like ours that need a lot of help and if you have a bit of equipment sat in the corner, those charities probably could use it. We are the only all female Football Club Charity, so leave me a message on our website, www.heelandsrangersfc.co.uk and, yes, we have boys teams now, so that will mean 12 teams next year!!!!


Dr. LEWIS ELFORD Heelands Rangers FC Director of Trustees, grass cutter, seeder, aerator and toilet unplugger Reg Charity 1108688


11 www.pitchcare.com/re


12 www.pitchcare.com/re


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