Peasedown party grant scheme to give away another £500!

A popular community festival that has achieved record success over the last eleven years has re-opened its grant scheme to give money back to the community.

Peasedown St John’s Party in the Park is held every summer on Beacon Field, and due to the success of the tenth event last year, thousands of pounds was raised.

The majority of the money will go towards funding Party in the Park 2019 this summer, but the organisers have set an amount aside – the Party in the Park Grant Fund, to reinvest back into the village in the form of small and medium-sized financial grants.

Since the scheme was set up in 2010 almost £15,000 has been given away to organisations such as Wansdyke Play Association, Peasedown Primary School, The Community Bus, Peasedown Methodist Church, Little Treasures Toy Library, Peasedown Youth Albion FC, Peasedown In Bloom, Bath All Starz, Peasedown Wellbeing Group, Chess in Schools, Peasedown Residents’ Association, Peasedown Croquet Club, Laurel Farm Kindergarden and the local scouts.

And now, event organisers are pleased to announce they’re giving away another £500 again this year, as part of their 11th anniversary celebrations.

Party in the Park Treasurer, Joy Fraser, said: “When the organisers first met to plan Party in the Park all those years ago we decided that no matter how much money we raised we’d like to give some of it back to the community. Thanks to the success of our ten previous festivals we are pleased to announce that the Party in the Park Grant Fund will give away another £500 again this year. This is our way of thanking residents for supporting last year’s festival and making it such a special day.”

Local organisations can apply for funding themselves, or be nominated by a third party.

To qualify for a Party in the Park Grant, applicants must be part of an organisation that’s either based in Peasedown St John or has beneficiaries in the community that will directly benefit from the funding. The organisation should be not-for-profit, a registered charitable trust, or seeking funding for one-off costs that cannot be met from their existing finances.

Preference will be given this year to groups and individuals who haven’t applied before.

Party in the Park Secretary, Helen Thorn, added: “All the members of the Festival Team have a strong sense of pride in Peasedown St John. We believe passionately in supporting the community at a grassroots level. Therefore, as well as just organising a large summer event each year we also want to do things for the community all year round.”

The 2019 Grant Fund was launched last Saturday morning on Beacon Field, despite the snow!

With new faces joining the Festival Team this year, the organising committee for 2019 is:

Nathan Hartley – Chairman
Joy Fraser – Treasurer
Karen Walker – Bookings Manager & Premises License Holder
Andrea Feeney – Entertainment Manager
Juliet Webb – Fundraising Manager
Craig Gill – Webmaster and Literature Designer
Helen Thorn – Secretary
Max Feeney – Volunteer Manager
Andrew Day – Push Kart Race Coordinator

The closing date for applications is Friday 22nd March. All interested applicants can download a copy of the Grant Fund application form here or email Joy Fraser at joyfraser951@gmail.com    

Successful grant applicants will be congratulated in front of a packed festival crowd at Party in the Park 11 on Saturday 8th June on Beacon Field, Peasedown St John.