Badminton club celebrates cash donation

A badminton club plans to extend its work with aspiring young players after receiving a donation from Persimmon Homes Anglia.

The Anglia team presented members of the SOS Badminton club with a cheque for £1,000 after they successfully applied through the Community Champions scheme – set up to support those living in the communities where new homes are being built.

The club meets at Hellesdon High School, close to Persimmon’s White Rose Park, where 157 new homes are currently built as part of the second phase of this high-quality new community.

Katie Ruthen and Sam Hales, representatives of the club, attended a presentation at White Rose Park and said: “Thank you for to Persimmon for this donation. We are looking to grow the club, we have the court space and we have experienced players but there is a lack of young talent coming through. We want to be able to offer coaching and support to get more young people to take up the sport. This grant will allow us to keep costs down and encourage more youngsters to play the sport.”

Josh Ford, Construction Director at Persimmon Anglia, added “At Persimmon we know the importance of clubs like this that offer a friendly environment where people can participate in a sport they enjoy, boosting their physical and mental wellbeing. We wanted to support SOS Badminton as it is a huge benefit to the community here in Hellesdon.”

Cllrs Lacey Douglass and Simon Jones, Broadland District Council members for Hellesdon South East, joined the presentation and said: “We are grateful to Persimmon for supporting the club as they continue to rebuild post Covid. We are pleased to see that the developer is working with the community and hope that others in our community can benefit from this fund in the future.”