Army wives look to raise �100,000 for new playgrounds
ARMY wives from Carver Barracks are looking to raise �100,000 to spruce up dilapidated play areas at the Wimbish base.
Nearly 300 families rely on the station’s limited facilities but a group of mothers has teamed up with the station commander to improve the playgrounds. The Rowney Community Park Fund aims to raise cash for a “modern, inspirational and exciting play park” to improve the lives of the army families and encourage civilian families onto the base.
Chairman of the fund Eleanor Brown said: “There is a lot of public support for charities like Help For Heroes and our Injured Soldiers’ Fund and rightly so, but it is the families as well as the serving soldiers who are suffering and making sacrifices.
“My husband’s squadron has been away nine months of the past 12 and some are already deployed again, only weeks after returning from Afghanistan. A state of the art playground would help support families on camp and make them feel valued.”
She described the current state of the play parks, with a limited range of outdated equipment and no provision for children over seven, as “very poor”. In a survey the fund conducted at the barracks, 78 per cent of respondents viewed the playgrounds as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’.
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Improvements will include a wide range of equipment for the children, offering the community – from army families and beyond – somewhere to play and meet.
Army wife Julie Hutchison said: “We are planning loads of events organised by the wives to raise money but also to really get the community working together. There are a lot of wives here who don’t drive and don’t have husbands here for long periods.
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“It can be really lonely and if we can’t get out and about then it means a lot to have better facilities for us all.”
Fundraising continues on November 26 at 7pm as the fund is holding a Dress Agency sale where people can bring along their pre-loved, quality dresses, suits and accessories to sell. The park fund will earn a 10 per cent commission and there will be a small entry fee of �3.
This is not just for the army wives, but a chance for anyone to go along a sell a dress, grab a bargain and have a good time.
For more information or for a seller pack, e-mail wimbishhive@armymail.mod.uk or call 01223 203772.
