PRESS RELEASE: 2nd July 2020
£1,500 to help Bethersden Tennis Club during current COVID-19 pandemic
Bethersden Tennis Club in Kent has been awarded £1,500 of National Lottery funding from Sport England’s Community Emergency Fund to help bridge the gap between the expected income and reduced membership fees during the on-going COVID-19 pandemic.
The outbreak of the virus and the consequent shutdown of businesses as of March 23 has left the sport and physical activity sector facing a period of uncertainty.
In response, on March 31 Sport England announced a £195m package to help the sport and physical activity sector through covid-19. Within the package is a £20m Community Emergency Fund, of National Lottery money to deliver immediate funding to those who have a role in supporting the nation to be active but are experiencing short-term financial hardship or the ceasing of operations due to the impact of coronavirus.
The grant will allow Bethersden Tennis Club to reduce fees for the remainder of the year whilst continuing to maintain the Club.
Liz Robinson, Chairman of Bethersden Tennis Club said:
“We are delighted to have been awarded the generous grant from Sport England. It has enabled the Club to resume tennis within the current restrictions and subsidise the drop in income due to lost membership during the lockdown period. Being able to provide a safe environment in which to play tennis has been very important to our members enabling them to enjoy the health and social benefits of getting back to sport.”
Tim Hollingsworth, Sport England’s Chief Executive, said:
“As the body responsible for the growth of sport and physical activity participation, we want the vital grassroots organisations that make sport and physical activity happen in this country to not just to come through this crisis but to be in a position to thrive again in the future. The £20m Community Emergency fund, made possible by National Lottery players is part of a multimillion pound package of support we are providing to ease the pressure on a huge number of the organisations who are central to the nation’s health and wellbeing.
“We are proud to be able to provide vital funding to Bethersden Tennis Club to help it through these extremely challenging times.”
***ENDS ***
Notes to Editors
For more details about the project please contact Liz Robinson, Club Chairman, at bethersdentennisclub@gmail.com
About the Sport England Community Emergency Fund
Part of Sport England’s overall £195m support package to help the sport and physical activity sector through COVID-19, the £20m Community Emergency Fund
aims to deliver immediate funding to those most in need. It's specifically targeted at organisations, including those not currently supported by us, who have a role in supporting the nation to be active but who are experiencing short term financial hardship or the ceasing of operations due to the ongoing crisis.
Awards will be between £300 and £10,000, and in in exceptional circumstances we’ll consider awards of more than £10,000. The types of organisations eligible include local sports clubs forced to close at short notice but who are facing ongoing costs around maintenance and utility bills, and voluntary and community sector organisations who deliver or enable sport and physical activity.
This £20 million fund of National Lottery money is designed to complement other sources of funding from the government, such as funds targeted at small businesses.
Further information on the Community Emergency Fund – including seeing if your organisation is eligible and the application process - can be found via https://www.sportengland.org/how-we-can-help/our-funds/community-emergency-fund.
About National Lottery
National Lottery players raise £30m every week for good causes, funding arts, heritage, sports, voluntary and charity projects around the UK. For more information on good causes in your area go to www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk
About Sport England
Sport England is a public body and invests up to £300 million National Lottery and government money each year in projects and programmes that help people get active and play sport.
It wants everyone in England, regardless of age, background, or level of ability, to feel able to engage in sport and physical activity. That’s why a lot of its work is specifically focused on helping people who do no, or very little, physical activity and groups who are typically less active - like women, disabled people and people on lower incomes.