The grant
Following a very substantial and informative application for a grant from West Lancashire Freemasons' Charity (WLFC) that was submitted by Alice Ferrebe, a Trustee of Cerebral Palsy United Football Club (CPUFC), Alice and her fellow Trustees and committee members waited patiently for a reply.
It wasn't long for a reply to come back, and to their joy, they were informed that WLFC had awarded them a donation of £10,000. As stated in their application, this donation was to provide a weekend holiday for 20 children, accompanied by five staff members, including a physiotherapist and a paramedic, at Kepplewray, an inclusive activity and adventure centre in the Lake District.
About Cerebral Palsy United Football Club
Cerebral Palsy United Football Club is a registered charity founded in 2014 to provide opportunities for participants in an inclusive environment. CPUFC welcomes anyone with Cerebral Palsy or an Acquired Brain Injury (CP/ABI) who wants to play football, regardless of their experience, age or gender. Their members have a range of mobility levels: some are ambulant, and some use walking aids or wheelchairs.
Many of their players have additional impairments such as learning and processing challenges, hearing and visual difficulties, as well as CP-associated health conditions like epilepsy, heart conditions and kidney problems. Due to the complexities of these conditions, most of the players have previously been excluded from the benefits of team sports. The club is based in the North West of England, and they have members from Lancashire, Liverpool, Wigan, Manchester, Cheshire, Cumbria and beyond.
The charity works with its members' families in numerous ways and has become a hub of support within the CP/ABI community in the region. 70% of the leadership team (which includes a committee, a youth committee, and a Board of Trustees) is made up of people with lived experience of CP/ABI, and all their decisions and initiatives respond to specific needs identified by the members and their families. CPUFC is currently running ten sessions per week across six centres and has over 170 playing members, ranging in age from 2 to 43.
A great weekend
In 2019 and 2021, CPUFC took around 15 of their younger players for a weekend at Kepplewray, an inclusive activity centre in the Lake District. Under their team's expert supervision, club members took part in a huge range of activities, including kayaking, climbing, lake swimming, Ghyll-scrambling and den-building. As a time of building even closer friendships and achieving previously unimagined levels of physical challenges, it was second to none. The club was unable to run this trip in 2022, as all their subs and income went to keeping their basic training sessions going. Kepplewray, as known from previous times there, is a place where everyone can adhere to the club's motto: 'Be the Best You Can Be'. This year, however, the adventure was reinstated with funding from West Lancashire Freemasons.
Following this year's very successful weekend trip to Kepplewray, Alice Ferrebe wrote to Alan Riley of WLFC to thank them for their very generous donation.
In her thank you letter, Alice said:
"I just wanted to say the most enormous thank you to the West Lancashire Freemasons for the amazing club trip we were able to take to the Lake District at the end of summer 2024. This was entirely thanks to your organisation's support. I've put together a thank you film in the hope that you can show it to your committee to let them know how well their generous donation was spent."
Mark Matthews, leader of the West Lancashire Freemasons, expressed his profound joy and satisfaction regarding the West Lancashire Freemasons Charity's ability to extend support to the Cerebral Palsy United Football Club. He conveyed his hope that this award would serve as the catalyst for a fantastic and memorable holiday for the members of the football club.
