Life in Salford 34 • August 2021 13
Crowdfunder scores for rugby club Eccles Rugby Football Club is back in the game thanks to crowdfunding. The 124 year-old Gorton Street club used Crowdfund Salford after lockdown stopped all fundraising and income generation and raised £20,000 in just 48 hours towards essential maintenance projects. Following this success they stretched their target to £40,000 for additional ground improvements and smashed it out of the park. The money will fund facilities works to keep the club growing and provide more opportunities for the local community to be active. The original target was for car park and security improvements and replacement floodlights. The extra project is to deliver an outdoor covered space to be used for exercise classes, social events and community hire, match day spectating and seated family hospitality.
Crowdfund Salford enables people, organisations and community groups to test local support for their initiative by raising money to win match funding of up to £10,000 from Mayor Dennett. Projects must benefit Salford and support one of the council’s Great Eight priorities to create a fairer, greener and healthier Salford. Club Chairman Chris Gaffey said: “Eccles RFC is a not for profit community club with more than 300 members and 18 teams of all ages. Crowdfunding has helped us recover from the pandemic to be ready to serve our community again.” Visit www.crowdfunder.co.uk/funds/salford for more information.
Learn how to use Salford Crowdfund in a free, online workshop from 12 noon to 1pm 12-1pm on Wednesday 13 October. Sign up at www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/crowdfund-salford-live-learn-how-to-crowdfund-tickets-164475433449
Van Gogh Alive to dazzle Salford Van Gogh Alive which has delighted over eight million people around the world opens at MediaCityUK in October. The multi-sensory exhibition uses projected images, music and even scent to create the sensation of walking right into the life and paintings of Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh, one of the most famous and influential figures in the history of western art. Visitors will travel through periods of his life that defined him as an artist with more than 3,000 images included. They range from his lesser known works inspired by Japanese woodcuts to his iconic Starry Night and Sunflowers paintings. Visitors can also learn more about his life and create their own artwork using expert video tutorials. The exhibition also includes the sunflower selfie room, a 360 degree mirrored room with hundreds of sunflowers. Van Gogh Alive is supporting The Christie charity which is currently fundraising for a new cancer centre and a world class research facility. Donations can be made when buying tickets or at the exhibition.
Tickets are on sale now from £22 for adults and £15 for children, with concessions available. It runs until Sunday 23 January 2022. Please visit
https://vangoghaliveuk.com
for details.
