Shoppers donate more than £1,000 to Springfield Park

Friends of Springfield Park’s Richard Guthrie, William Hobhouse and Dave Logan with Tesco’s Imran Rashid and Melissa Livesey

The Friends of Springfield Park have raised a grand total of £1,270 in donations from kind shoppers.

On a two day stint earlier this month (July 2010) teams of volunteers set up outside Tesco in Sudden to chat to shoppers and raise money for the park.

Alongside the volunteers were display boards outlining what the group hope to achieve for Springfield Park. Throughout the two days hundreds of shoppers stopped to chat and to talk about the park and what their hopes were.

Dave Logan of the Friends Group said: “The effort put in by the volunteers meant that the couple of days exceeded all our expectations, not least the incredible level of interest and support we received from the public.

“Our successful campaign against the driving range certainly appears to have put the park on the map, and we all felt that many shoppers appreciated our efforts and supported them. I would also like to say a big thank you to the Tesco’s Silk Street store staff for their support.”

Richard Guthrie, who is the Treasurer of the Friends Group, made a special effort to be there even though he was just out of hospital following a major operation.

“The sessions did wonders for my recovery”, he said. “We’re a very active and very committed group, and I knew I wanted to help out. I’d only been out of hospital for a few weeks following an operation to remove part of my kidney, I’m pleased I have been able to do my bit, and as treasurer, I’m particularly pleased with the amount raised.”

William Hobhouse added: “The money raised is going directly to improve facilities in the park, like relaying the cricket pitch and better parking.

“We’ve seen already how things happen with a dynamic Friends Group. This is a Rochdale example of how David Cameron’s Big Society can work here.”

Melissa Livesey from Tesco’s said: “We are delighted to have welcomed the Friends of Springfield Park to Tesco’s, and are pleased that their two days here have been such a success. We wish them all the best.”