Southam & Bishop’s Itchington Congregational Church was founded in 1839 and has been at the heart of the local community for more than 180 years.
Among the events hosted by the church is a monthly youth club for children aged seven to 17, which is held on the third Thursday of each month. The club includes games such as table tennis and pool with all equipment kept in a shed.
However, the shed was showing significant signs of deterioration and the church applied to The Wigley Community Fund to buy a replacement and successfully received a grant of £958.43.
Reverend Neil Chappell said, ‘Our youth club has grown in size over the last 12 months and we have up to 20 children taking part each month from various backgrounds and ages. Children really enjoy playing table tennis and pool but the shed was more than 20 years old and in a very poor condition, so we really needed a replacement. One of our members found out about The Wigley Community Fund by reading about another organisation who received funding, so we decided to apply ourselves. To be awarded this funding is a huge help to us. The new shed is safer, larger and much more accessible as we prepare to move our club into a single multi-purpose room on the ground floor.’