Charity

Fundraiser says help is out there for local clubs

Philip Irwin 05/12/2022

2 minutes read

Ady Gratton has a message for other club fundraisers.

Fundraiser says help is out there for local clubs – by Philip Irwin:

A Fundraiser volunteer at a Barry sports club is urging other clubs to seek advice from the charity that helped him raise more than £100,000 in just seven years.

Ady (Adrian) Gratton joined Barry Athletic Football Club as a player 10 years ago. In 2015, he offered to become a volunteer fundraising officer – in his spare time – for the club, which was in desperate need. Rain was coming in through a leaking roof and with no funds, the situation was urgent.

After receiving the first grant of £500 from the Cadbury Trust to complete a temporary repair to the roof, Ady could see the impact he could make and now, in only seven years, he has raised over £109,000!

However, Ady does not want to take sole credit for this and praises Glamorgan Voluntary Services (GVS), a local charity, which supports community organisations and volunteers in the Vale.

He said: “Without GVS none of this would be possible. Its funding e-bulletins, funding surgeries and workshops were a genuine factor in the successes we have had.”

When Ady joined Barry Athletic Football Club it only had one men’s team. Now, it has over 30 teams across all age groups. Supporting the teams there are over 60 volunteers who average 1,000 volunteering hours a week.

Volunteering runs in the Gratton family with Ady’s father running football teams for over 20 years. Also, his grandfather was the fixture secretary for the Vale of Glamorgan Junior League for over 45 years.

Barry Athletic Football Club’s Clubhouse is now dry and warm, thanks to raising funds for heating and a new roof. The changing rooms have been renovated with a new shower and heating system. The referees have a well-equipped separate changing room and in the clubhouse there are new kitchen facilities, toilets, bar, pool table and TV. The most recent purchase from funding was the clubs own washing machine for kits which saves on launderette costs!

The work Ady and the team has done has also benefitted the Barry Athletic Cricket Club, who use the facilities six months of the year. Barry Athletic Football Club is no ordinary football team, it’s a community made up of committed and caring individuals. During COVID-19 the Club donated 100 portions of fish and chips, delivered by the teams to College Fields Nursing Home.

Ady insisted this piece should make special mention of Glamorgan Voluntary Services (GVS) and the difference its services make to community groups: “If you are part of a community organisation or run a club, join GVS. Membership was free of charge, so we had nothing to lose and everything to gain. We sometimes borrow the sound system through the free equipment loan service and the funding information service is obviously priceless!”