Welcome to our May newsletter! With May half-term just around the corner, we’re looking forward to another fun-filled week at Birtley Community Pool. From inflatable sessions and slide fun to community updates and exciting fundraising efforts, there’s plenty happening at the pool this month. As always, thank you for your continued support! Every visit, donation, and volunteer hour helps keep our community pool thriving.

We’re looking for new Trustees to join the charity board — especially individuals with experience in community engagement, volunteer management and / or marketing. If you’re passionate about community projects and want to help shape the future of Birtley Community Pool, we’d love to hear from you!

Email: info@birtleycommunitypool.org.uk

Whether you have a few spare hours or can commit to a couple of hours a week, your support will help us continue providing excellent services to the community.

We are currently recruiting for the following volunteer roles:

If you’d like to get involved, please email us at info@birtleycommunitypool.org.uk

Your time and effort will be invaluable in supporting the pool’s success!

We have just been awarded £9,000 funding from the Mayors Opportunity Fund at Community Foundation North East to enable us to provide a new low-cost session on Monday mornings called AquaSocial for older people. Although the session is open to all, people aged 65 and over will receive a discounted place as part of the funding offer. This will involve guided gentle exercises in our 1m deep improver pool, followed by socialising in our spectator area with a free hot drink and biscuit. We will also provide transport for older people in our local community who cannot get to the pool by themselves and support from a dedicated Lead Leisure Attendant throughout their visit. More details will be provided soon about this new initiative.

We’re delighted to share that we have successfully raised £37,000 funding towards our solar panels project from the National Lottery (£20,000) and the Sir James Knott Trust (£17,000). While this is a huge step forward, we are still applying to other local funds for the remaining £13,000 that we need. We have also set up our own GoFundMe page which enables our supporters to make a donation, please don’t forget to add gift aid.

Every donation moves us closer to reducing our energy costs and carbon emissions, making the pool more environmentally sustainable for the future. Our GoFundMe link and QR code can be found at the end of the newsletter if you would like to support our project.

Last month we welcomed Rohan from Lord Lawson School for a week of work experience at the pool.

Rohan got the full experience of working as a Leisure Attendant, with our team showing him the ropes across a variety of duties including:

We were delighted to give Rohan an insight into working in the leisure industry. Thank you to Jonah for all his hard work during the week!

Birtley Community Pool volunteer Paul Snaith is taking on an incredible fundraising challenge this summer to support our community-run pool. Paul will swim four Lake District lakes, covering nearly 30 miles in open water, to raise vital funds for the pool.

Paul’s “Four Lakes Challenge” includes:

Paul said:

“I’ve been swimming at Birtley Pool since the late 1970s and was the last swimmer out of the water on its final day in 2022. As a volunteer at the new Birtley Community Pool, I wanted to give something back to a place that means so much to me.”

Lewis Herbertson, Senior Operational Manager at Birtley Community Pool, said:

“Paul represents everything that makes Birtley Community Pool special – dedication, community spirit, and a genuine love for the pool. We’re incredibly grateful for his support.”

Support Paul’s Challenge

Every donation will help us continue providing affordable swimming and community programmes for local people. Please support Paul’s challenge and share his fundraising page.

Donate to – https://gofund.me/8a822e77c

Lily Pad Sessions (Improver Pool – under 5s)

Monday, Wednesday & Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Help Us Make a Splash!

We’re now fundraising for solar panels, and your support can make a big difference! Donations are gratefully received via our GoFundMe page:

www.gofundme.com/f/please-help-us-get-solar-panels-for-birtley-community-pool