Playground fashion show is huge success
THE Riverside Park Hotel was packed recently for a fundraising fashion show in aid of Bree community playground.
The event was organised by the Bree Development Group under the Chairmanship of Catriona Hughes.
It was a fantastic night and a great success in terms of raising money for the much needed facility.
The show featured clothing from local retailers Ottiva and Glamour.
The organisers said they expect that around €6,000 will be made from the event when the final figure is tallied.
A spokesperson said the committee members are grateful to everyone who helped make the community playground such a vibrant facility not just for people in the village itself but also for the surrounding areas like Galbally and Ballyhogue where people have also given their support to the fundraising initiatives.
The group has been working on the development of the facility for since 2007 when the group’s application for funding was approved by Wexford County Council under the Community Playground Scheme 2007.
Unfortunately, the banking crisis and subsequent financial crash the following year severely limited funding available to local authorities and the application was one of many put on hold.
However, a ‘ Town & Village Renewal Scheme’ was launched in 2017 with an emphasis on trails, digital hubs, festivals and playgrounds and Bree CDG proposed developing walking trails on Bree Hill, a two storey extension to the local community centre - to include a digital hub - and provision of a community playground adjacent to the community centre.
By the time the plans were finalised and cost analysis completed for the trails, digital hub and a festival, there was only €14,300 left for the provision of a playground.
‘At this stage, the group reapplied to Wexford County Council for a playground equipment grant of €25,000 and included that application in the ‘ Town and Village Renewal’ application process,’ said the committee spokesperson.
Both applications proved successful, however, due to funding limits for the playground at the time it was decided by the Playground Committee to undertake provision of a community playground in two stages.
Work on phase one of the scheme, under the Town & Village Renewal Scheme, was completed last summer at a cost of €40,000.
‘At this stage the committee decided that a further application for additional public funding to complete Phase 2 would be submitted as quickly as possible, such was the popularity of the playground already in existence,’ said the spokesperson.
Earlier this year phase two of the community playground project was completed with a grant from Wexford Local Development’s Leader Programme.
This phase included play equipment for 5 to 12-year-olds, an accessible swing, seating benches and picnic tables at a cost €50,000.
The playground committee, under guidance from the Bree CDG, was responsible for raising 25 per cent of the total cost.
Local fundraising initiatives like the recent fashion show have been very successful todate.
A GoFundMe scheme has netted €3,000 to-date and Bri Beag ‘Dancers and Chancers’ troupe generously donated their takings of €2,000 to the committee in August, 2018.
In August this year the fund raising efforts benefited from a donation of €2,500 raised through Bree CDG’s barndance.
The committee is thankful to everyone who has supported the fundraising initiatives to-date which has resulted in a playground that is benefiting children from a very wide catchment area.