Westcliff RFC Solar Panel Appeal

Hi, my name is Marc and I’m the Hon Sec at your club but am writing on behalf of the exec committee who volunteer their time to keep the facilities running. On behalf of everyone associated with WRFC if I could have your time for two minutes to read on it would be appreciated!

It’s been a few years since we moved from our old home to the lovely big bright clubhouse we now call home. We all love the space and surroundings but having a big clubhouse comes with a lot of associated costs.

Quite honestly, after all the recent energy price increases over the last few years we spend a fortune on electric; money we’d rather spend on the mini, youth and senior players, teams and facilities.

We’ve done a lot of research recently and have a number of quotes to install solar panels on the south facing roof of the clubhouse. The expected costs come to c£20k if we were to do it all in one go, but the returns are immediate.

If we were able to raise the full amount (and we know it’s a lot of money and we will be considering grants and other ways of raising funds) we’d look to complete the installation in mid 2025.

If with your help we were able to reach this ambitious target, the amount of money we’d be able to invest in you, your children and grandchildren stead of paying bills will run into the thousands per year.

We don’t claim to be the greenest business around but we do try! We planted 1000 trees and shrubs last year and with help from the Woodland Trust will be doing that again this year. With the addition of solar panels we won’t be carbon neutral, we know that, but we will be doing our bit towards long term sustainability and the effects of further energy price increases.

We’re launching this appeal at the biggest rugby event in our senior men’s calendar where we hope to see many old friends celebrating not just the result, but also the festive period. We hope by spreading the word with a good crowd we can get off to a positive start with fundraising in the new year!

Thank you for your time and continued support to the long term success and sustainability of WRFC.