Deserving Ribble Valley schools, groups and charities receive incredible £12k proceeds thanks to bonfire's roaring success

Gathering at the Castle Gates, organisers of the Bonfire Event Team, along with representatives of the town’s service clubs, presented cheques to 12 local schools, groups and charities who were nominated this year. These include: St Michael and St John’s RC Primary School, Thorneyholme Primary School, St James CE Primary School, Hillside Specialist School and College, Friends of Barrow School, Friends of Serenity, East Lancashire Hospital Trust (ELHTandMe); Community First Responders; Carers Link Lancashire; Clitheroe English Club; NW Ambulance Service NHS Trust and Ribble FM.

"Thanks to our all-time-high 5,000 ticket sell-out we had a record-breaking event in 2021 and we are delighted to be able to plough all our proceeds back into our local community,’ said Andy Belcham, Chair of the Castle Bonfire committee. "We were all excited on the night by the good spirits and generosity of all those who braved the weather to attend – in less than perfect firework display conditions – resulting in us exceeding our cautious expectations of those attending our COVID Safe Event. It is brilliant to meet our local schools, groups and charity representatives and hear about how they are going to spend their donations."

Some of those charities present include Community First Responders who will spend their proceeds on replacing three defibrillators that have been well-used and are at the end of their

lifespan. Simon Doyle, representing the Ribble Valley branch of First Responders, said: "This donation has come at the perfect time for us. We carry out all the fundraising ourselves

so to get a windfall from the Castle Bonfire goes a long way to keeping our equipment up-to-date when it's clearly very much needed."

Lisa Tyrer and Laura Clarkson represented St James’ Primary and Barrow Primary School respectively. Both schools intend to spend their donations on much-needed outdoor play

equipment and enhancing their Forest School provisions. "Eventually our outdoor play area will tie in with the Primrose Trust nature trail at the back of St James," said Lisa, "So ultimately it will benefit a wider community than just the school: we are truly grateful."

One of the smaller beneficiaries was the lesser-known Clitheroe English Club represented by Diana Wilkins. The club helps members improve their English skills and Diana mentioned how surprised they had been at how many in Clitheroe have a need for the organisation. "This money will go towards paper and printing costs and we hope to invest in a portable projector to make our lessons more interactive and environmentally-friendly – it’s very much appreciated."

Jonny Walter – Chair of Clitheroe Round Table, one of the town’s service clubs who support the Castle Bonfire was proud to be representing his Club at the presentation. "Clitheroe and the Community is at the heart of what Round Table is all about – and being here today, supporting local schools, groups and charities is a key part of our mission statement. It’s great to see everyone here today and learn just how important these donations are to them all.’

The Clitheroe Castle Bonfire and Fireworks display is a large-scale community event that draws thousands of people together from across the town and the Ribble Valley. Each year, thousands of pounds of proceeds are shared between local groups and charities. The event is widely supported by members of Clitheroe’s many service club organisations including Clitheroe Rotary, Clitheroe Round Table, Ribblesdale Rotary and Clitheroe Lions. It is one of the town’s major community events each calendar year.