Old haunt of The Smiths gets £40,000 boost
The iconic Salford Lads’ Club – immortalised by publicity shots of legenday Manchester band The Smiths – has been awarded £40,000 funding from Comic Relief to help continue its work in the Salford community.
‘Core Strength’ is a new grant scheme from Comic Relief and it seems appropriate that Salford Lads’ Club – founded in 1903 to offer positive alternatives to teenage gangs and crime in one of the poorest areas of the city – is one of the first beneficiaries of the new scheme.
More than 1,500 organisations from across the UK applied for this award and Salford Lads’ Club is thrilled to be one of 105 successful groups.
The club is run by volunteers from the Salford community, including Archie Swif, 82 and Eric Salthouse, 86, as well as many younger volunteers who continue to pass on the club values.
Eric joined the club aged 12 in 1942 and Archie aged 13 in 1947 – Salford Lads’ Club changed their lives for the better and they have been volunteers there ever since.
The team of volunteers are indeed the core strength of the club. Like all small organisations Salford Lads’ Club struggles to keep up with all the administrative tasks required to keep the centre open and put on activities.
Leslie Holmes, Salford Lads’ Club’s project manager: “We live in increasingly difficult times and many projects dealing with improving people’s lives at the raw end of society are under pressure from the continued cuts to council budgets; projects like ours are becoming increasingly important to the fabric of local communities.
“This new grant will help the team to spend time preparing longer term plans and improve systems – such as IT – and to expand opportunities with its own social enterprise. It will help to cover staff training and overheads, over a period of two years.”
A Comic Relief plaque, donated to the club will be on display in the grand main entrance hall at Salford Lads’ Club, along with original photographs of its club founders, William and James Grimble Groves.
The next Comic Relief Red Nose Day is next month – on Friday, March 24.
Look out for the Salford Lads Club stall at the award-winning Altrincham Market in the next few weeks.
T-shirts, quirky crockery, badges and all manner of original goods will be on sale at the market on the following dates: this Sunday 26 February, Sunday 26 March (Mother’s Day) and Sunday 23 April. Plus, there will be a limited edition of *Mozza Mother’s Day* cards and vases, which will also be on sale at the club itself.
