Speedway Museum Project We
are over the hill! Whilst that may well apply to me it most certainly
does not apply to the museum funding project. For we are now beyond the
halfway mark and although we must not get carried away it gives us
inspiration to reach the total of £55.000. Our
present total is comprised of the Guaranteed pledges plus all that has
been raised to date from; two track collections, various events such as
motorcycle shows where we have held raffles etc, a generous donation
from the Association of Speedway Referees, sales of the Paradise Park
Speedway Museum badge, and Malcolm Brown’s CD, substantial private
donations by two Promoters, 128 donations from WSRA members and many
individually from Speedway Supporters. As
the guaranteed amount is £19,000 and the total now is £12565
we do have a lot to do. Yet that balance of £23435 has been
given by such a small number of Speedway’s great family that it is
easy to realise that if every one who has yet to donate could afford
just five pounds we would be there and beyond. We know there are people
who truly can not afford five pounds, but generally that is not so. And
on the other hand it seems there are the higher profile personalities
who may think they have to ‘give big’ because of their position.
That is not the case! A donation however large or small is treated in
confidence and the same recognition will be given within the museum
record of donors whatever the amount. Sponsorship and business
arrangements are dealt with as negotiated. Wimbledon
held the first collection, and now Rye House have completed theirs. Here
a crash helmet signed by many former riders and current stars Jason
Crump, Gary Havelock, Mark Loram and Joe Screen, was raffled followed by
a track collection by the riders. Over £1,300 pounds was raised, which
added to other donations meant we this weekend were able to bank over £2,000.
Several tracks are in process of deciding on collection dates. If
collections can’t be carried out without our assistance we will
endeavour to be there. Please let us know. We
would like to thank all who have managed to give the Museum coverage in
their publications, programmes, and the announcers who also are giving
us a ‘plug’. Not forgetting those kind people who are helping us
with raffle prizes, advertising material, and exposure on the internet
etc. Our
first interview on the long road to achieving charity status and then
possibly lottery funding is due this week. The amount of assistance we
can receive is influenced by the amount we have raised ourselves. Thus
it is a case of donating sooner rather than later. It
would be a great help if groups could organise fund raising events in
their locality in order to boost the funds. For
further information please contact George Barclay 41 Lodge Ave. Dagenham
Essex RM8 2JD. Telephone
0208 592 3361 George Barclay |