Hayes (Kent) Cricket Club

Hayes (Kent) Cricket Club - 200 Club
By way of introduction, I’m Malcolm Couldrey, Chairman of Hayes (Kent) Cricket Club and I am writing to you about a very important form of fund-raising, our 200 Club. You’re probably familiar with the way these types of initiatives run, as they’re a popular form of fundraising, especially in sports clubs and schools. In our case, we established the 200 Club some 15 years ago to assist with funding a variety of aspects, including contributing to the cost of coaching, the purchase of equipment and importantly the up-keep of our facilities.

At Hayes, we enjoy some of the best playing and coaching facilities in Kent for club cricket - but these come at a price. As part of The Warman’s Trust, the cricket section contributes to the cost of employing a full time groundsman (something that many clubs don’t have the benefit of), a bar steward, plus other ‘behind the scenes’ support staff. And whilst we have a good record for attracting grants to cover some coaching costs, a large proportion still has to be met directly from our own funds. However, we believe that these costs are essential if we are to maintain the highest standards, so fund-raising is a critical form of income for us.

So on to the reason for my letter. We currently have 116 members in the 200 Club, be they players, parents or friends, and between them, they have 197 numbers in the monthly draw. For a monthly fee of £2, the members are allocated a number and every month there is a draw for 4 cash prizes of £60, £50, £30 & £20. Although called the 200 Club, we actually have numbers in the range 1 – 300 to allocate each month, so there are over 100 spare numbers. I would like to increase our members to 300 this year (or more if possible). The more members there are, the bigger the prizes. So I ask that;

- If you are a player, or perhaps a parent of one of our colts, and you don’t have a number in the draw, please consider joining the scheme now, to help contribute to the ever increasing costs of running our cricket club. A standing order for £2 a month is all that is required and when considered against the cost of pint of beer, a bar of chocolate, or an hour of parking, that’s good value, and it’s going to a good cause. There is a standing order form attached, that simply needs to be returned to Chris Beaumont, who will forward it on to your Bank once he has allocated a number(s) in the draw. His address is on the bottom of the form, although if you have on-line banking, you might find it easier to set one up that way. If you do, please make sure you let Chris know, so he can allocate you a number. His email address is chris@wotherspoon.net.

- If you are already a ticket holder, why don’t you increase your monthly stake and improve your chances of winning? It’s easy to change by using the attached form or by instructing your bank direct. If you’ve been in the scheme for a number of years, or perhaps from the start, you’ll know that the cost of a ticket has remained the same ever since we re-vamped the 200 Club in 1995. So if you were willing to contribute £2 per month back then, think about what that’s worth today, and I’m sure you’ll be willing to increase your stake.

And, if you currently pay by cheque, please change to a standing order using the attached form, as this is so much easier for us to administer and track. Don’t forget to let Chris Beaumont know of any other changes (including change of address/email details). Once again, his email is chris@wotherspoon.net.

Interestingly, 1995 was the year that eBay, the online auction website, was founded by Pierre Omidyar and one of the first items sold was a broken laser pointer for $14.83. Astonished, Omidyar contacted the winning bidder to ask if he understood that the laser pointer was broken. In his responding email, the buyer explained: "I'm a collector of broken laser pointers”. I’m now attempting to track down that buyer, to see if he’d be interested in purchasing all the losing numbers in each draw since 1995. You never know, he may have got bored with broken laser pointers and switched to collecting losing 200 Club tickets instead!!

But seriously, the more numbers we allocate, the greater the prize money and of course, the more the club will benefit. As an added incentive, for every additional number allocated between now and 31st January 2012, we will put the purchaser’s name into a separate draw for a free number for a year. Number 300 has been reserved for that lucky person, so the more additional numbers you buy between now and then, the more chances you have of winning that free entry for a year, as well as the monthly cash prizes. We are also planning to have a special ‘major’ prize draw during 2012, but more of that later.

That’s all for now, apart from saying that that our next social event is the pre-season Quiz Night on Friday 16th March 2012. More details about this nearer the time but please reserve the date in your diaries and if you want to bring a team along, I’m sure Steve Wright (steve.w.wright@hotmail.co.uk) would be only too willing to get advanced notification.

In the meantime, have a great Christmas and New Year and we look forward to seeing you in the March.

Thanking you in anticipation.


Malcolm Couldrey
Chairman, Hayes (Kent) Cricket Club


A copy of this letter and the standing order mandate form can be found from the following link. Copy and paste into your browser.

www.hayescricket.co.uk/pages/200club.htm