Yatton Keynell Recreation Association has become the first winner of the Persimmon “Building Futures” award, a new £1m campaign. The village hall trust set up to provide facilities for recreation, education and other community activities scooped £1,000 as one of the first regional champions of Persimmon Homes’ Building Futures programme in partnership with Team GB, the British Olympic Association.
The housebuilder is dishing out 128 grants of £1,000 across its 32 regional businesses to support community groups working with under-18s across three categories – education & arts, health and sport – to improve local facilities and the delivery of vital community projects.
Later in the year, three initiatives will go on to win £100,000 each through a national online public vote. In each sector – education & arts, health and sport – as well as the £100,000 first prize, there will be a £50,000 second prize and a £20,000 third prize, while a further 87 shortlisted projects will each receive £5,000.
Yatton Keynell Recreation Association will put the money towards funding outdoor equipment to help improve its playground and open-air exercise area.
Stephen Slade, spokesman for the group, said: “This is fantastic news and we’re delighted to delighted to have won this funding from Persimmon Homes. “We depend entirely on fundraising activities and income from hiring of the hall to fund our facilities and therefore funding like this is vital for us.”