* Please see the 'Events' and 'News' pages
and the 'Sproatley - St Swithins Church',
'Sproatley Hub' and the
'St Swithins Restoration Appeal' Facebook Pages
(there is a Facebook link button in the menu on the left)
*** For details of the Restoration Appeal Committee please scroll down ...
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Our first event of 2025 is coming up! On 7 February we will once again welcome local historian, Mike Covell, who will give an intriguing talk entitled "WWII - What They Didn't Tell You!" Come and join us for Mike's fascinating insights in the Village Hall at 7.30pm, followed by cheese and wine. Tickets £7 from Sproatley Village Shop or call 01482 817887 or 01482 814188
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Exciting news! We now have an account with Easyfundraising which enables us to receive donations from thousands of online retailers every time you shop online, and the good news is that it doesn't cost you, or the appeal, a penny! This platform is used by 200,000 good causes, including many churches and is working in partnership with the Diocese of York.
Just scan the QR code below, or use this link to join in:
https://join.easyfundraising.org.uk/st-swithins-sproatley/uqugrm/ca/1yUpvjwa/A2303/facebook
It's so easy and you can help us in a big way by participating. Please take a look at the short video accessible from this link below and sign up today! https://youtu.be/9bE7kp4sI_A?si=ra_lljrNP4rxR3aP
Thank you!
Remember to set up the Donation Reminder option to make it even easier – once you have selected the retailers you use, you can go straight to their site when you shop and a donation reminder will pop up to ask if you want the donation to be made from your purchase.
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We are delighted to announce that we have recently been awarded a grant of £3,900 from The Benefact Trust (received) and £8,000 from The Yorkshire Historic Churches Trust (to be paid on completion of the essential repairs project). We are immensely grateful to the support received from these two bodies. This brings the total of grants awarded so far since we launched our campaign to £19,400, including earlier awards of:
£250 from the Withernwick Wind Farm Community Chest for an asbestos survey
£2,250 from the National Churches Trust Foundation Grant Scheme towards the cost of measured surveys
£5,000 from the Withernwick Wind Farm Community Fund towards the repairs project
We await the outcome of further applications to the National Churches Trust Large Grants Scheme and the Congregational & General Trust.
Your ongoing support is also vital to our project and we thank you for being with us on this journey.
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Thank you to all who came and supported our Public Meeting about the Restoration Appeal on 8 November. We are grateful for your continuing support and for the fundraising suggestions put forward. We will try to keep you informed of our progress with the plans as put forward at our meeting. We would still love to hear from anyone with further fundraising ideas and if you are able to get involved please contact any one of the Restoration Fund Committee members listed below on this page. As reported at the meeting, our priorities are now the porch and other structural repairs around the building, and replacement of the tower roof covering and repair of the pinnacles. We propose to apply to the National Churches Trust under their Large Grants Scheme early next year to help with this. We have already secured a small grant from the Withernwick Wind Farm Community Fund but there will still be a shortfall in our funding so your help is still needed. Our aim continues to be to keep the church open, safe and accessible and then to improve the facilities so that we can make the building a real community space, whilst retaining its primary purpose as a place of worship. Please continue to support us. Thank you.
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Thank you to all who made our third Scarecrow Festival such a brilliant success. The event has now raised £1,030 for our appeal. A massive thank you to Sally Hollyman, and also to Laura Buchanan, Emi Grant and Liam Foster who helped Sally with the organisation and planning of this event. And thank you to all who took part and supported the event in any way. Well done to the winning entries; what amazing creativity!
First Prize ... Mary Poppins
Second Prize ... Peppa the Pig
Third Prize ... Come Fly With Me
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Thank you to those who came and supported our Village Voices evening for the Restoration Fund.
This event raised £269.80.
Thank you all
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It’s so simple and if you are an eligible UK taxpayer you can take advantage of Gift Aid to increase the amount we receive from your gift at no extra cost to yourself.
We are extremely grateful for all donations no matter how large or small.
Scan this QR code below which will take you directly to the donation site. Thank you
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Please help us to raise £50,000!!!
The newly formed Restoration Committee is pleased to announce that the Save St Swithins Restoration Appeal has now been launched. Thank you to all who attended the public meeting held on 7th of March 2019 and especially to those who offered help and support. This has enabled us to launch our appeal fully in the knowledge that the community is behind this project.
In response to the survey conducted across the village, many residents referred to the church as the ‘heart’ or ‘focal point’ of the community. As you may know, St Swithins Church is now in need of substantial repairs, including a new nave roof and repairs to the tower. In addition, we would like to improve the facilities the church is able to offer in order that it can be used more widely by the community.
Our overall target is around £340,000. We hope to obtain the bulk of this through grants from various bodies, but this is not guaranteed. In any event we will need to raise at least £50,000 locally to provide matched funding for the grant applications. We also need to show real community support and participation in the project or the grant bodies will not support us.
Please read on to see how YOU can help.
This is a real opportunity to bring our community together and have some fun at the same time. If you would like to get involved please get in touch. You can contact any member of the
Restoration Committee:
Denise Wilson (PCC rep and treasurer) 01482 817887 denisekw55@icloud.com
Margaret Cockbill (PCC rep) 01482 814407 mrc@damaskend.karoo.co.uk
Kelly Chapman 01482 813165 kellywainwright157@gmail.com
Ann Dalton 01482 811108
John Jackson 01482 897512
Ann Dyson 07928 517317
Sally Hollyman 01482 817931 sallyspc2003@yahoo.co.uk
We would like to raise the required funding within a period of two years. This is an ambitious target but one which, we believe, is possible with your continued support. To date (September 2021) we have raised £30,247.45, which is a great effort. A huge THANK YOU to all who have contributed so far but we really do need your help and support.
We will be approaching businesses in the area, large and small, for support and there are a number of charitable trusts and other grant awarding bodies which may be able to help. Aside from this there has been a great response to our appeal for fundraising ideas so in the coming months, do please watch out for and give your support
St Swithins Church is located on Church Lane,
leading from Balk Lane, Sproatley
Together we can do it!
Thank you
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