At a recent meeting of the Grants Sub Board held at Gosport Borough Council, several local groups and organisations were delighted to walk away with a grant after their request for funding for their various projects proved successful.
First to face the panel was Turning the Tide, a charity set up in 2008 to raise money for:- Samaritans, Toe in the Water (a charity which takes injured service personnel sailing) and Sail Africa (a charity which gets youngsters in Durban out on the water).
Turning the Tide’s application was to enable Anna Wardley to take part in a challenging solo swim across the Straits of Gibraltar, from Spain to Morocco, to raise money for the charities. The grant was requested to help fund all the necessities of such a swim including: - a pilot boat/support vessel; registration fees; medical; flights; accommodation; equipment and insurance. Listening to stories of training swims at Stokes Bay in winter meant Members soon held a great respect for her challenge and granted her £960. Councillor Mark Hook, Chairman of the Grants Sub Board wished her well saying, “If your personality and enthusiasm is anything to go by you will power your way through the water.”
Gosport Sharks Network Scouts are aged 18 -25 and they undertake a range of activities including raft building; air rifle shooting; pioneering; orienteering and cooking on fires. As well as helping train other younger scouts they plan to send a small group on a 10 day expedition to L’Aquila in Italy, a town hit by an earthquake.
They aim to visit other scout groups en route to L’Aquila to run activities, develop links, share skills and see how the youngsters have coped since the earthquake. Members of the panel said how important it was to support groups that teach and interact with children, keeping them busy and off of street corners and agreed a grant of £500.
The Duke of Edinburgh Gosport & Fareham Local Award committee organise an annual presentation for successful participants; help fund leader training, expeditions and equipment costs; plus they give support and encouragement.
With 255 people currently undertaking the award, 60% of who are Gosport residents, the group requested a grant towards providing: - a 2 day intermediate First Aid Course for four people; a 4 day Walking Group Leader training course for two people; a 4 day assessment for two people; an Award presentation ceremony to include hall hire, programmes etc: expedition costs for 6 Gold Award Groups plus a subsidy for expedition equipment. The panel agreed a grant of £1,170.
Lloyd Vine Leisure Fitness Centre requested a grant for one of their members to compete in the European Powerlifting Championship at Koping, Sweden. Dean Bowring has had incredible success in recent years; in fact, over the last four years he has won the British, Commonwealth, European and World title in powerlifting. Deanaddressed the panel personally to request a grant to help fund the cost of flights; accommodation; food; entry fee/doping test and a train ticket, so that he can attend and defend his title. When asked to explain a bit about how much it costs him to train and compete normally, Dean listed all the travelling, training, equipment, accommodation, plus the food and protein supplements he requires to maintain his size and weight for competitions, which runs into thousands of pounds. The panel congratulated Dean on his continued success and wished him well, adding he was a great ambassador for Gosport. They unanimously agreed a grant of £475.
Finally, Jacobs Well Family Church requested a grant to help pay for fencing, a rotovator and skips to help them transform land to the rear of the church into allotment plots. It was explained that the plots would be for use by church members only, who would then grow fruit and vegetables, not for themselves, but to distribute to those less fortunate. The panel agreed a grant of £1,300.
