Wooden Spoon


Welcome to the latest edition of Spoonews! Since the last edition, it seems that we have had an unprecedented run of national and international incidents that have weakened confidence in our economic recovery and undermined our reliance on social stability. I don’t know about you, but in my peer group and social network, many have been extremely animated about the issues we face both in the short and medium term. In fact, I often find myself on my “soap box” having a good old rant. However, all


this discussion and debate is a good thing as it shows that we care… the question is what are we going to do about it?


At times like this, when the burden of huge events, outside of my control weigh heavily on my mind, I am reminded of great speech given by Theodore Roosevelt, “Citizenship in a Republic,” given at the Sorbonne, in 1910. The whole speech is fantastic but this extract commonly referred to as “the man in the area” is, for me, truly inspirational:


“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” I also gain tremendous inspiration when I look at the work we do at Spoon. In this edition of Spoonews you will read all about people who are on the “pitch” and in the “arena” doing what they can to help the charity. Special mention must go to Bruce Priday and his Committee in Devon who are about to hit £1 Million and also to Mark Williams for winning our first ever “One Step Beyond Award”. Spoonews is packed with personal and team achievement, stunning fundraising events and a huge number of completed projects all aimed at helping the disadvantaged children and young people we support… Hopefully this will give us all something to cheer and smile about!


Regards, Bill Hill, CEO Wooden Spoon


PS: Just completed Spoon End2End challenge, cycling from John O Groats to Lands end in 7.5 days. Very tough, fantastically well organised, great camaraderie, incredibly emotional finish.. highly recommended if you want to put a huge “tick” in your personal life CV see www.spoonchallenges.com


Our rugby patrons


Our Royal Patron is HRH The Princess Royal who gives generously of her time. The RFU, WRU, SRU, IRFU and the RFL all support us in our charitable work.


Who We Are and What We Do Wooden Spoon was founded in 1983 and is dedicated to helping children and young people who are disadvantaged physically, mentally or socially by using sport as a method of improving lives while harnessing the spirit and values of rugby. Over the years our fundraising initiatives have benefitted over half a million young people with more than £16 million pounds of charitable support enabling donations towards recovery centres, playgrounds, community rugby programmes and much more. We work closely with the rugby


community, corporate supporters, individuals and some of the UK’s top sporting legends whose contribution and support is invaluable.


Spoon encompasses more than 10,000 members across the four home nations with over 40 regional volunteer committees who organise hundreds of events such as fundraising dinners, golf days and rugby matches. These events are crucial to raising awareness and funds, offering supporters the chance to become directly involved and providing many opportunities to network. If you would like to become involved or require further information please email membership@woodenspoon.com or contact the central national team on 01276 410 180.


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