Holyhead Sea Cadets

 

HOLYHEAD Sea Cadets will be ship shape and Bristol fashion after receiving an award of £245,000 from the Big Lottery Fund to refurbish their centre and restock their equipment.The group plan to use the windfall to refurbish their building on Newry Beach, which can be used by the whole community.Sea Cadets secretary Gerwyn Jones said: It has taken five years to get to this point, from when the young people first told us they wanted better facilities to enjoy their activities; especially in winter when the building seems to leak like a sieve and is difficult to heat.
This grant award of £245,000 by the Big Lottery Fund will allow us to create a modern, warm and welcoming centre for youth activities in the area – in all weather conditions and throughout the year. While our main responsibilities are for the wellbeing of Sea Cadets activity in this area, the refurbishing of the Unit building on Newry Beach, Holyhead, will allow us to extend a welcome to the local community to make use of the building and site.Holyhead has been struck particularly hard by unemployment in the last few years and we have all been deeply concerned that despondency in the older generation would find its way into dissatisfaction by the young people.Mr Jones added: We can soon offer them new opportunities to engage with these activities and volunteer for community and charitable activities.This substantial grant puts us well on the way to achieving the targets set out for us by the cadets themselves. We still need to raise more money, but this substantial grant by the Big Lottery Fund goes a very long way.During the last 11 months, through fundraising and support from local companies such as Eaton Electrical, BAE systems and the Holyhead RNA Club and Wylfa, the cadets have raised money towards buying new training equipment.
The group were helped through the grant funding application process by Porthyfelin Communities First Partnership.Ann Kennedy, chairman of the Partnership, said: The site is ideally located within reach of many people and in an ideal location for creating education, training and social activities for all generations.