Moors have received a huge commercial and community boost ahead of the 2024/25 campaign with the news that UK Energy Management have agreed a key partnership with the Club.
The national renewables company first made links with Moors last season but has now agreed to underwrite the entire running cost of our community clubhouse for the coming campaign as part of a new commercial sponsorship package.
Situated at The Brewery Field, the Clubhouse is home to the Club’s Moors in the Community charitable programme and first opened its doors back in 2019.
A year later, the Club added a second-storey function room which allows enhanced use of the facility and enabled the launch of numerous new community projects.
Since then a number of vital schemes have been introduced, including the hugely popular Community Meals Programme which delivers hot food to the doors of elderly and vulnerable residents three days a week.
The Club uses the Clubhouse as a Warm Space during the winter, hosts fundraisers for local charities, as well as housing the town’s over 50s and over 60s Walking Football teams.
Meanwhile, at Christmas, the Clubhouse is transformed into a free-of-charge Santa’s Grotto which also plays host to a Community Christmas Dinner.
Seasonal children’s parties are also hosted throughout the year, providing an affordable route for local families to celebrate Easter, Christmas, Summer Holidays and Halloween.
It was this focus on giving back to the community which inspired UKEM founder and CEO, Steven Copeland, to sponsor the Club’s efforts.
“Being born and raised in the North East and having worked on various projects in Spennymoor and its surrounding areas, it gives me great pride to be able to support initiatives like Moors in the Community, which give so much to the local area,” he said.
“The facility is far more than a clubhouse, it’s a vital support hub which has provided a lifeline to hundreds of families, particularly during the pandemic and cost of living crisis, so as soon as we found out they were looking for support, we didn’t think twice.
“As a company, we take great pride in our North East roots and supporting the local community, and Spennymoor Town is a club which shares those exact same values.
“It’s a real community club and we’re delighted to be supporting them throughout the 2024/2025 season and beyond.”
The partnership with Moors will also see UKEM sponsor the stadium’s South Stand; support the expansion of the Moors in the Community programme and sponsor the Club’s Ladies Team and college development programme.
It will also enable the Club to fund free Season Tickets for all of its Youth Academy players and a pool of community-use Season Tickets.
Ian Geldard, Moors’ Managing Director, said: “We are hugely grateful for UKEM’s support, which will enable us to continue our community impact programme.
“Over recent years, the programme has helped deliver over 7,000 meals to vulnerable residents, host hundreds of community events and fundraisers and provide a home to numerous organisations and groups and the support from UKEM will ensure we can continue building on that success.”
The building. made up of modular units, received temporary planning permission from Durham County Council in 2019 and was granted a two-year extension in 2023. However, due to this construction, permanent planning approval is impossible.
The Club remains hopeful that, by working with key partners from the public and private sectors, a replacement facility can be secured which is suitable and sustainable for the long-term, to ensure that everything it does in and around the town is able to continue.
“The current solution for our community facility means our current costs are over £80,000 per year to run, which is threatening it’s long-term future, however we certainly haven’t lost hope that we can secure a permanent solution,” added Geldard.
“Moors in the Community relies on the support and generosity of its partner organisations – be it local businesses, developers or funders – so we are hopeful that, working together, we can come up with a plan to help safeguard its future for generations to come.”
