Who are we? What do we want to achieve?
Welcome to our page, thanks for visiting!
Wem Judo Club was founded in 1974. For the last 40 years we have provided members of the local community with the opportunity to learn, train and keep fit through the Olympic sport of judo.
We are a family orientated club, run by a group volunteers, that caters for players young and old. Anyone is welcome to come and have a go at judo in a friendly, relaxed atmosphere. We run sessions at an extremely low price because we feel that everyone should have the opportunity to take part in sporting activity regardless of their economic situation. We also encourage whole families to get involved and, by keeping the costs low, we are able to provide large families with an opportunity to do something together at a price that doesn't cost the Earth.
In 1998, the club was forced to move out of it's own dojo due to a fire at the nearby town hall. Within just a couple of months we were back up and running at a local school. It was very important to us to continue providing opportunities for the local community, and so the school has been our home ever since. However, by being in a school, it means that we are very limited as to the amount of sessions we can deliver.
The team who run the club are committed to it's growth. One of our volunteers won the prestigious British Judo Association Volunteer of the Year award in 2013 for 22 years of none stop voluntary service to the club.
We plan to provide those within our community with an improved facility and a wider range of sessions. We want to hold family judo sessions, fitness sessions, women only sessions, judo games sessions and many more. We want every member of the family to come along to judo and enjoy it, and have fun.
We see a new dojo as a place not just for judo. We would use it to benefit the wider community by offering the space to other clubs and groups to use. We hope to make our dojo into a real community hub.
What We Need & What You Get
We would like your help in raising £50,000.
We would use this money to put down as a deposit to buy or build a new dojo for our club.
We are currently looking to move into a unit that we can rent for a year. By doing this we can show a bank that we can make repayments on a mortgage. When we get a mortgage we would have to put down a 30% deposit. This money would be used as the deposit on our own dojo.
By donating to our cause you would be eligible for some free judo sessions. Depending on the amount you donate, we are prepared to give a free session, a free week, a free month or even a free year of judo to you or your child.
You would also be donating to a project that would benefit the whole community and it's surrounding areas. There is no other facility in this area that has a sprung, matted floor with wall padding. This could be used by martial arts clubs and kids clubs, baby yoga, senior citizen pilates, and lots of other community based clubs and groups.
If we weren't to raise the total that we want to achieve. We would use any money raised to develop the unit that we rent and make it the best possible facility for our members and the other groups that use it.
The Impact
In real terms, we feel that the impact of this project could be big for our community.
We are looking to provide a facility that everyone can use at an affordable price.
For our judo club, it means that we will be able to offer three sessions a week, whereas currently we can only provide one for some of our members. It also means that we can offer a much wider variety of sessions, focusing on fitness for all of the family in particular. We are committed to promoted sport and a healthy lifestyle to all of our members and there families.
For the community, it means that they will have access to a unique facility where they can come and practise their own sport or pass time in a safe and secure environment.
Risks & Challenges
Although we see this as a fitting project, it will be, like any project involving buildings, subject to local authority planning regulations and possible changes of use of buildings. Within our club we have a wide network of professionals who are committed to our project. We have a building inspector, architect, builders willing to help us, local business owners and we are talking to the local council about our project. As a result, we feel confident that any planning issues that may arise can be overcome.
If we were unable to find a suitable unit or building to buy once we have secured a mortgage, then the money raised would stay in the club's account until we find such a unit or building.
We want to secure the long term future of our judo club, as well as ensure that it grows and fulfils it's potential. The unit/building has to be right for us and our needs, as well as those in the wider community. We are prepared to wait, if it means getting the right place. It is extremely important to us that we get this right and make the corrct decisions at every turn, thus making our project a success. Wouldn't it be great if other clubs like ours could use our project as a blueprint for their own?
Other Ways You Can Help
We understand that not everyone is in a position to make a donation to help us with our project. However, just because you are unable to donate, it doesn't mean you can't help us if you think our project is worth supporting.
Word of mouth alone is a great way to help us. Tell as many people as you can! Shout it from the roof tops, use social media to spread the word, or advertise our project in your window.
Another way to help is to come down to the club and have a go for yourself, or bring your children to a session. The more members we have, the stronger our voice becomes.
No matter how you support us, we really appreciate it. Without the people to help we won't get our communtiy hub to support our people.
