Contractor Henry Brothers kickstarted a £250,000 appeal to create a café and shop at Alfreton Park Community Special School by organising a fund-raising cricket match.
The game took place at Alfreton Cricket Club in Derbyshire and involved a challenge between a Henry Brothers team and the club.
Henry Brothers is currently building a new £13.2m Alfreton Park Community Special School to replace outdated and unsuitable teaching facilities at the school’s existing site.
The event was staged to launch a fund-raising appeal for the Deer Shed project which will create a community café and shop where pupils will gain valuable work experience. The school plans to convert a derelict building into a facility that will also be an important resource for the local community visiting the playground and park facilities in the area.
Representatives from the school and other members of the construction team, including project manager Faithful + Gould, recruitment agency Linsco and roofing and cladding company Varla, joined the Henry Brothers cricket team, who went on to narrowly win the T20 by 105 runs to 104.
With £3,600 collected from sub-contractors working on the site, plus a collection at the game, a second collection undertaken by Alfreton Cricket Club at the last match of the season, and a donation from Henry Brothers, a total of £5,000 was netted for the cause.
Business development manager at Nottingham-based Henry Brothers Midlands Clare Swaine said: “Alfreton Park Community Special School places a huge emphasis on developing life skills that are crucial for pupils after they leave school and we were very pleased to organise and take part in a cricket match against Alfreton Cricket Club to help kickstart the Deer Shed appeal, which will provide a place where pupils can gain valuable work experience, build confidence and learn skills which they can take to their lives beyond the school.
“As a company, Henry Brothers is committed to supporting community activities and we are delighted to have helped get the fund off to a flying start. We’d like to thank our sub-contractors and others involved in the construction of the new Alfreton Park Community Special School for their generosity, and Alfreton Cricket Club for hosting the event and going into bat against our team.”
Acting head teacher at Alfreton Park Community Special School Josie O’Donnell said: “We are very grateful to Henry Brothers, their sub-contractors and the construction team, along with Alfreton Cricket Club, for organising this fund-raising match and supporting our efforts to create additional facilities to give our students life-enriching opportunities.”
Henry Brothers Midlands is part of The Henry Group, which comprises a number of manufacturing and construction sector companies, ranging from external construction through to interiors fit-out. In partnership with clients, it has a proven track record in education, defence, accommodation, commercial, industrial, transport and healthcare sectors.