Bowled over by sponsorship deal

Mon, Jun 5th 2006, 11:00

Roffey Cricket Club, based in Horsham, West Sussex, has been bowled over by a generous donation from award-winning Redrow Homes.

The 102-year-old club hit a home run with the £2,500 sponsorship from Redrow, which has helped to pay for a new kit for the team.

Club chairman and cricket manager, Gary Whittington explains: “I think it’s great that Redrow have been so proactive. They could just build homes and move on but they have really helped and this will have a lasting effect in our community.”

The money that Redrow has provided has had a large impact on the club and Gary considers the club to be part of the area’s social fabric.

He adds: “We look after almost 120 juniors here and that’s a lot of money needed for training outfits. With Redrow’s help, not only have we been able to supply the players with full kits, but there has been enough money to purchase an electronic scoreboard which will be used for games for years to come. We really can’t thank Redrow enough for their generosity.”

Each of the caps, shirts and training tops bought with the money that Redrow provided is proudly emblazoned with the Redrow name in bold red.

But it is not just the new kits that are pulling in the crowds. With the 1st team captain not yet 17-years-old, the young leader is the talk of the county league. Joshua Flemming leads a squad of 17 players, aged between 15 and 31 in games throughout the area.

Redrow made the donation to the cricket club as part of their commitment to getting involved in the communities in which the company builds. The house builder is getting ready to launch a new scheme on Crawley Road in Roffey, opposite the cricket club.

Redrow’s latest offering will be called ‘OneEighty’ and is set to feature 44 contemporary two-bedroom apartments. The development is planned to launch in September of this year.

Paul Moran, sales director for Redrow Homes (Southern), who provided the sponsorship, said: “We recognise the importance of corporate support for amateur sports and Redrow goes to great lengths to help such groups. Not only are we helping to maintain the health and fitness of members of the communities in which we operate, but we could also be encouraging future professional cricketing talent.”

Redrow recently retained the Business in the Community Percent Standard for the third consecutive year for giving at least 1% of its pre-tax profits back to the community in cash donations, sponsorship, and gifts in kind or management/employee time.