Market Drayton Boxing Club seeks help to raise £13,500 in just a couple of weeks to upgrade facilties

Market Drayton Boxing Club, is aiming to match funding offered by Sport England and raise £13,500 to build a second floor for facilities at its base at Market Drayton Community Amateur Sports Club.

Volunteer at the not-for-profit organisation, Dee Cowey said the club is on a tight deadline to match an offer from Sport England so it can go ahead with its plans. 

The boxing club has seen a significant rise in popularity and participation numbers, and has started to out-grow the space it currently operates in. 

The club, which works in the local community and with schools in Market Drayton, is seeking to have a second floor built where they can hang boxing bags, have a competition boxing ring and a mezzanine floor, giving the club space to coach their boxers. 

The boxing club has supported Rock & Box events in the town - which have raised around £20,000 for charity - by offering free training to people who have participated.

But, the club is now seeking help of its own so it can continue to offer sessions for children and adults of all ages and abilities. 

Nearly £600 has been raised for the club so far (at time of writing), and volunteers are hoping the community can get behind their ambitions. 

"We are a not-for-profit club, bar the head coach, all of the coaches volunteer and give their time for free," said volunteer at Market Drayton Boxing Club, Dee.

"We need extra space, we have a growing club and have loads of new boxers coming through

"We are very limited with what we can offer in the Community Amateur Sports Club. We asked the community club if they would allow us to have another floor built and it is going to cost more than £26,000. 

"We have set up a Crowdfunder and asked Sport England if they would match fund. They have agreed to give us half of the money, but we have to raise the other half ourselves, and we are on an extremely strict deadline and have only a couple of weeks left to try and raise the money. 

"We really need the community to get behind us to see if they can support us to get this going and raise the money, or we might lose the offer.

"We give our best to the community with everything we have. We have raised the money for charity through Rock & Box, but we just need the money ourselves because we are struggling as we are not-for-profit."

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