FACT Transport made appeal for March Christmas Cracker event

An SOS was made by the organisers of the March Christmas Cracker for help in funding transport for the partygoers after the town council decided to defer an application for grant aid.

Nicola Christy, of FACT Community Transport, who took over running the event three years after it was stopped by the town council during Covid times, put out an appeal to cover the costs of door-to-door transport for those attending the party this Wednesday.

Launching the GoFundMe appeal, Nicola said: "Want to join me in making a difference? I’m raising money to fund the transport for 22 socially isolated older people to attend the Christmas Cracker event.

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"Without this funding, they will not be able to attend. Thanks in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to me."

Nicola told the Cambs Times that FACT had applied for a small grant of £250 to cover the costs to the town council, but at its meeting last Monday, councillors decided they needed more information and deferred a decision to January.

She said: "That is no good to me, we are a not-for-profit organisation and I have to make sure we have funding for everything we do, so I thought I would ask the public to help. And they have."

Since the appeal was launched last week, the GoFundMe page has raised £390 through donations.

Nicola said: "The extra money will go towards next year's event. I know we sell tickets at £10 per head, but people get a lot for that, including sandwiches, mince pies, sausage rolls, entertainment and a venue, so there is nothing left to cover the transport.

"Three of the people who are coming are wheelchair bound and so rely on us to get them to the party. We offer a door-to-door service, so they can get to and from the party safely."

She said they were disappointed with the town council's response to the grant application, as the event was previously run and fully funded by the council.

FACT took it over three years ago after Nicola was approached by a local resident, who asked what was happening to the event after it was halted during the pandemic.

"We thought it was a shame it was no longer being held, so we decided to take it on. We did narrow down those who were eligible to attend, because in the past it was open to all pensioners in the town," said Nicola.

Sarah Lemmon, the town council's clerk, said councillors had discussed the application but felt they needed more information on how the money was being used.

She pointed out that people were being charged £10 a ticket, and councillors felt they wanted a more detailed breakdown on how the event was funded.

"The council did not reject the application; members just decided they needed more details. We have introduced new rules, which means we now seek more details on costs and how the money will be used," she said.

"We also do not provide funding for something if funding is coming from somewhere else for the same thing," she added.