Gas Boost For Young Ring Masters
31st March 2008
Cairn Lodge Boxing Club in West Belfast has welcomed substantial funding from the Energy for Children Charitable Trust – the Charity set up by the natural gas industry with the aim to help local disadvantaged children.
The Charity award has enabled the club to buy a wide selection of new top of the range safety equipment, which before seemed out of reach due to the expense involved. The equipment includes head guards, gloves, gum shields, hand wraps and chest protectors for the growing number of girls that are getting involved with the Agnes Street club.
The new safer environment will now mean that the younger members can improve in their sport without any injury worries. The boxing club was set up in 1981, and currently boasts an Ireland U21 champion and a nine counties champion.
Tom Waite, Senior Coach, welcomed the funding by saying:
“We are a voluntary club and so to get this help from the gas charity has been fantastic. There is a real buzz around the place that I have not seen for many years, and it is an exciting time to be here as there are some really talented youngsters coming through”.
Phoenix Natural Gas covers all administration costs associated with the Energy for Children Charitable Trust so that every penny raised goes directly to local disadvantaged children. Belfast natural gas installer Stephen Meneely nominated Cairn Lodge for funding, and he explained:
“I have always been aware of the good work that the club does with the young people in the area and it was great to hear that my application to give them some support had been successful”.
The Energy for Children Charitable Trust recently set itself a target of raising £250,000 for local disadvantaged children by the end of 2009.
Pic: Promising young talent Dean Leckey (l) and Nathan Dunn (r) are joined by local natural gas installer Stephen Meneely and Senior Coach Tom Waite.