2020 has been a very difficult and, indeed, frightening year for many of us. But, as in any time of adversity, wonderful and inspiring things happen. And they certainly happened for Batheaston New Village Hall Trust (BNVH):
- In January they held a feasibility discussion evening with local residents and received very positive feedback.
- In April, Covid struck, but the trustees decided that the project had to go forward or inflation would destroy any chance of success.
- In June, the fundraising campaign began with a massive door to door leaflet drop to every household in the parish boundaries, and the response was amazing - over £50,000 was donated by many, many supporters, big and small.
- In July, the builders moved on to the site and a Ground Breaking ceremony was held, hosted by our local MP, the Rt, Hon. Jacob Rees-Mogg. Once the prosecco bottles were empty, the builders set to work digging out the foundations
- August saw Jane Riley set out each day, rain and shine, to create a daily sketch painting of our village. The sale of the beautiful work produced raised in excess of £7,000
- Throughout the rest of the year, the trustees continued the tireless effort begun years before, to raise the funds to complete the project and achieved major successes
- Finally, this month, they received a decision from the Bernard Sunley Foundation, another major charitable organisation, that they would give £10,000 to the project as it nears completion.
This means that, as 2020 draws to a close amid great hope and optimism for the future for us all, BNVH can continue to build on a year which saw total funds raised: £185,000.
תגובות