THE Covid-19 pandemic has certainly changed the way in which Guiseley AFC’s Community Foundation works as it moved from basically providing football coaching at holiday camps, in various institutions, in local schools and for home schooled children to providing an invaluable role in the local community. This has varied from delivering food and prescriptions to those in need to providing online coaching courses to keep youngsters motivated and healthy. Covid-19 also put an end to the foundation’s main fundraising events – the annual two-day beer festival at Coopers Bar in Guiseley and the annual golf day at Horsforth Golf Club.
AN AIREBOROUGH children’s charity has been awarded a £4,000 grant from Comic Relief. The money will be used to help parents with mental health problems.The funding, from Comic Relief’s Covid-19 Community Fund has been given to ACTION (Aireborough Children’s Trust In Our Neighbourhood), a registered charity which supports the work of Aireborough Children’s Centre. A spokesman said: “We have been extremely fortunate to receive a grant from the Comic Relief COVID-19 Community Fund (England). The grant bid was to enable us to tackle the ongoing and detrimental effect of parental mental health within our area and this is what the grant will be used for. As a result of the grant award, we have been able to secure the services of a professional parent counsellor until April 2021.
A VIRTUAL balloon race to Lapland will be launched on Christmas Day by Aireborough Rotary. The race will start at 12pm and will last for seven days. Participants can buy, create and track a balloon for themselves, or as a gift and watch its progress with £50, £20 and £10 prizes. Go to https://ecoracing.co/user/page/1050 to buy a balloon. The club has recently helped the Kids Out charity with its Toy Box Initiative. The charity was seeking funding for presents for 51 children in three Leeds refuges. Assistant Governor (Leeds Group) and Aireborough member Janet Appleton contacted all the Leeds clubs and secured the £1275 needed to ensure all the children will wake up to an exciting Christmas Day. Aireborough members also donated 60 presents, collected and wrapped by Janet Kerr, to go to children and their parents supported by Aireborough Children’s Centre.