Fundraising initiative to help Build A Better Balla

A NOVEL fundraising campaign that aims to deliver a state of the art GAA pitch in the village of Balla will have an ‘immense contribution to the health and well-being’ of the community.

That is according to Balla Secondary School principal, Teresa Walsh, who is one of the driving forces behind the #BuildingABetterBalla campaign whose primary aim is to deliver the pitch to the community by the end of 2021.

The Building A Better Balla campaign is a collaborative fundraiser between Balla Secondary School and Balla GAA Club who have joined forces once again to help build a stronger future for the area.

Construction is due to begin on the project in the coming months, Covid-19 permitting, and speaking ahead of the project, Teresa Walsh said she hopes the campaign will bring further pride and joy to area.

“Balla Secondary School is delighted to be working in partnership with our local GAA club to deliver a top-quality sports pitch for our students and the local community,” she said. “The benefits to all concerned will be immense in contributing to the health and well-being of all who participate.

“Our hope is that the project will bring great pride and much joy to everyone in our community and beyond who avidly support the school and the club, particularly during these difficult times we are living.”

The project was granted just under €70,000 from the Sports Capital project in 2019 and over the course of the next year a number of fundraising efforts will be made.

Due to Covid-19, traditional forms of fundraising have not been possible so the campaign will be conducting much of their fundraising their social media pages.

The campaign has also received tremendous support from a number of local businesses in the area who have very generously come on board as initial donors. Their support has been vital in getting the project off the ground and to this point and they will all feature heavily throughout the campaign.

Speaking on behalf of Balla GAA Club, chairperson Gerry O’Neill stated that he is very happy that the club is engaged with the school in progressing this ‘brilliant’ project. “Balla GAA club and Balla Secondary School have a long and close relationship,” he said. “As close neighbours with many common objectives, this project will go a long way to meeting both our needs in the promotion and playing of Gaelic games into the foreseeable future.

“The current facilities are just not capable anymore to handle the number of players, from both boys and girls age groups, that the school and the club are fielding, so this project will have a huge role to play in the future of our community.”

To follow the campaign, check out @BuildingABetterBalla on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram