During that time Penzance has seen many changes, making it easy for us to drift apart from the community. We want to change that and re-establish our bond with our local community.
Our first port of call was to get involved with the town plans, making our business more present. Hence, the move to the new harbour-front building - this project is now underway with more on that to come in future weeks! Second, was to look around, to see what local projects we ourselves could support.
This was a timely coincidence, with Kevin Bishop - a client and great friend of Chas’s - coming to us to ask for our support in fundraising for Mousehole AFC and talk all things football. A worthy cause, right on our doorstep and one we are only too glad to throw our support behind.
A couple of years ago Jacksons were honoured to be asked by Mousehole football club to become a sponsor of the Solomon Browne stand at their Trungle Parc ground, built in memory of the Penlee Lifeboat victims.
Since then, it's been inspiring to see the progress the team have made, currently riding high in the Southern League and the second highest placed team in Cornwall (after Truro City who now play in Plymouth).
In these difficult economic times of high energy and fuel costs, running a football club throws up incredible challenges. Many clubs throughout Cornwall are struggling to survive at the moment and several have closed. Mousehole is an exception – they are showing real business acumen as well as their success on the pitch.
It's so important that grassroots football thrives in West Penwith. The club’s youth and women’s teams give great opportunities for young people with all the benefits that regular exercise and team membership gives.
If you've not yet caught a match, pop along on Saturday to watch the men or Sunday for the youth or women’s team. You might be surprised how good The Seagulls are for a local team!
But some projects are beyond the regular budget of a small club and we wanted to bring your attention to a crowdfunding campaign that the club are running at the moment. As you can imagine, in a rural community football clubs can attract a lot of attention and in Mousehole’s case the cars and team coaches that pass through the local village of Paul are causing something of a headache for the residents. The club have come up with an impressive scheme to divert their traffic away from the village by building a new access road through a sliver of land that a neighbour has gifted them.
If you want to know more about this project and have a little time, please have a look at the campaign website www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/mouseholeafc or on their Facebook page www.facebook.com/mouseholeafc
You might ask why is this important? As a young girl (a fair time ago) I enjoyed all sports particularly football and hockey. Women’s football wasn’t a thing then and hockey was limited in its opportunity and financial support in Cornwall. My mum and dad drove me around the country as I managed to play in higher leagues and for region. I didn’t quite make it to the GB team but loved every second of the journey. I think what didn’t help was the need to travel to get to a really good team or training centre that often took me from Cornwall to Somerset and beyond. In the end, it wasn’t sustainable or affordable for me to get to London to join training sessions on a regular basis.
Having a club that sits on your doorstep that could offer anyone living in Cornwall an opportunity to play in a top league, for their country without the cost and impact of travelling would be a real gift.
If you have ever been to a big stadium to watch any team sport you will sense the community around that stadium coming together, something wildly missing from modern society.
Mousehole is on our doorstep. Paul Jackson’s son Archie plays for them on a Sunday (not so good for Paul’s lie-in day!) and absolutely loves it, helping him be a part of something and in turn blossoming with confidence. Could Mousehole be the next feel-good football story like Wrexham? We think it's a cause worth supporting, as well as a club that's definitely worth cheering for.