Community Stories

Forterra Packs A Punch With Donation

We recently donated £500 to Whittlesey Amateur Boxing Club, near Peterborough, to aid their fundraising following lockdown.

The club had used their existing funds to prepare the gym for reopening following the easing of restrictions. The £500 donation will be used to purchase a brand-new heavy boxing bag.

We heard about the club’s plight from Mark Hurst, a Strapper at our Kings Dyke factory in Whittlesey. Mark used to box at the club and is now one of its coaches. Mark comments: “I’ve been involved with the club since 2014, and we’ve been through a lot. We’ve had a lot of different premises and we even had to close for a short time. The other coaches and I have worked really hard to bring the club back to life.”

The club, currently located in a disused barn, is a bustling focal point in the community, offering classes for children and adults alike. However, fundraising can be challenging. Mark continues: “Because we are such a small community, we need to continually raise funds to survive. We’ve applied for grants and schemes in the past, but we’ve never been successful.”

When the last lockdown hit, Mark and the other volunteer coaches decided to use their remaining funds to get the club ready for reopening: “We wanted to make sure the kids were excited to come back to classes, especially after having such a difficult time during lockdown.”

“The donation from Forterra will allow us to buy a brand-new heavy boxing bag, which is something we’d love to have at the club but have never been able to afford until now. I would like to say a huge thank you to Forterra for their donation and to the team of coaches at the club who work so hard to keep us going.”

Our Chief Executive, Stephen Harrison, believes strongly in the importance of supporting local community groups and clubs: “The work of local community groups like Whittlesey Amateur Boxing Club is so important, especially after the difficult time we have all had. We are pleased to be able to make this contribution towards the club and commend them for all their hard work.”