Fundraisers are raising the roof
Cippenham: Money being raised for repair work at club
The Cippenham Royal British Legion Club has launched a ‘Raise the Roof’ fundraising campaign to help fund major repair works at the social club.
The club’s home in Brook Path needs improvements including a replacement roof, an additional disabled toilet, retarmacking of the club’s car park, and the installation of new doors at the main entrance.
The social club, founded in 1948, would ideally like to raise £100,000 to complete the renovation works but reaching £30,000-£40,000 would enable some essential upgrades to take place.
Club chairman Bridget
Orr said: “Over the years the building has suffered numerous bouts of vandalism to the roof and the perimeter brick wall.
“Youths climb up onto the roof causing damage to the membrane and structure, spraying graffiti, and running about which then leads to leaks into the building.
“We can only repair small parts of the roof at a time, which as you can imagine is a never-ending situation as when you repair one leak, the water just travels and finds another way in.”
She added: “We have been advised that the whole roof needs replacing and have received estimates ranging between £80,000 - £100,000.
“This is simply impossible for us to achieve which means we have only been able to patch repair the most urgent damaged areas as and when we can.”
A branch of the Royal British Legion charity has been established in Cippenham since 1928 with a small team of unpaid volunteers co-ordinating events including the Poppy Appeal.
The social club leases the building from the Royal British Legion and is responsible for all repair costs.
Later this month the club’s former barman, Joe Matysiak, will be running the London Marathon to support the fundraising campaign.
Chairman Bridget is also doing her bit by walking 100 miles in May to boost the fundraising pot.
Other fundraising events planned in the next 12 months include a black-tie gala, dinner and dance and ticketed live music events.
“The campaign is extremely important for the club, while we do what we can with what we have got, the building does need updating and improvements made.
“We have obligations under our lease to carry out repairs to the building.
“If we fail to comply our landlord could serve us with a notice to compel the works to be completed.
“If we do not have the funds to complete the works, our lease could be forfeited,” Bridget added.
She added that the club is open for both members and the general public who can help with the campaign in a number of ways including donating prizes for raffles, sharing and promoting club events and activities, offering professional services and donating materials.
To get involved in the campaign get in touch by calling 07876466501 or email: crbl secretary@gmail.com
Joe’s GoFundMe page, can be viewed at: gofund.me /c310aec2 and Bridget’s JustGiving page can be found at: tinyurl.com/ejtumbsy