Salford Lad's Club - possibility of closure: gofundme started (October 13, 2024)

Salford Lads Club could face closure again, hopefully Morrissey will help out like he did the last time it happened. Here’s the go fund me link. They’ve got until the end of November to raise the money. https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-salford-lads-and-girls-club

GoFundMe description:

The Salford Lads and Girls Club has been supporting kids for 120 years. They've changed countless lives, nurtured talent, and been a bedrock of friendship and learning. But now this great institution needs our help. The club is facing a financial crisis and needs to raise £250,000 by the end of November to survive. Join the Manchester Evening News in helping the charity which has done so much for young people in our region.

 

[BookishBoy]

I was going to make that joke too but thought it would be too obvious.

It really was, yes.

 

[Geoffrey Ingram]

Let it shut down. They can’t keep tapping up pop stars for cash, just because they stood outside it once, 40 years ago.
If Limahl walked by my house, I wouldn’t chase him down and ask for multiple contributions to the mortgage.

The Lads Club's funding is indeed a never ending story

 

[Geoffrey Ingram]

Shut it down.

And then complain when there are kids roaming the streets with nothing to do but cause mischief?

 

[SteveWS]

Sorry for my ignorance but can anyone tell me why it's so expensive to 'run'? Is it, perhaps, a matter of high-priced rent?

 

[TheSmiths_1985]

Sorry for my ignorance but can anyone tell me why it's so expensive to 'run'? Is it, perhaps, a matter of high-priced rent?

Fat cats playing silly beggars. Shut it down.

 

[gordyboy9]

I was going to make that joke too but thought it would be too obvious.

you should have said the salford lads club is a never ending story.

 

[gordyboy9]

a place like this is a bottomless pit,they dont sell anything so they have no money coming in,they will be back in six months looking for another £250,000,its sad but its just the way it is these days.

the government gave tata steel 500 million and they will be back with a begging bowl in a year or two because china can sell their steel cheaper.

 

[Famous when dead]

National pick up:

Salford Lads Club: historic youth centre battles to keep doors open

However, the club has suffered a drop in grant income in an increasingly competitive field. Last year the club’s annual income was £160,000, while its outgoings came to £394,700.

The club wants to hire new staff, to professionalise the running of the club, making it better able to compete for grant funding. It also faces annual bills of £15,000 for utilities and £13,000 for insurance, as well as building maintenance costs of £15,000

Salford Lads Club: historic youth centre battles to keep doors open

Building opened in 1904 and featured on Smiths album sleeve needs ‘urgent cash injection’ as grant income falls

www.theguardian.com

FWD.

 

[Les Tameside]

National pick up:

View attachment 113006

Salford Lads Club: historic youth centre battles to keep doors open

However, the club has suffered a drop in grant income in an increasingly competitive field. Last year the club’s annual income was £160,000, while its outgoings came to £394,700.

The club wants to hire new staff, to professionalise the running of the club, making it better able to compete for grant funding. It also faces annual bills of £15,000 for utilities and £13,000 for insurance, as well as building maintenance costs of £15,000

Salford Lads Club: historic youth centre battles to keep doors open

Building opened in 1904 and featured on Smiths album sleeve needs ‘urgent cash injection’ as grant income falls

www.theguardian.com

FWD.

“professionalise the running of the club”

Well, that’s the kiss of death right there.

 

[Geoffrey Ingram]

Sorry for my ignorance but can anyone tell me why it's so expensive to 'run'? Is it, perhaps, a matter of high-priced rent?

It is the up keep of the building. It is 120 years old so will be in need of maintenance. It is a huge building and the cost to simply heat it would be a very large electricity bill.
The place has been run on the goodwill of volunteers, the majority of them former members, but as they have got older there isn't as big a pool of volunteers coming behind them that can offer that level of commitment.
So the decision to employ staff has been (rightly) taken.

 

[Geoffrey Ingram]

If it's a buck twenty, then ain't it considered a historic landmark?
Thought them kinda places were
protected.

It is a Grade II listed building and is protected.

 

[Was I ever any good]

I wonder if if could be handed over to the
National trust, or an organisation of that kind ?

 

[The Wild Turkey]

It is a Grade II listed building and is protected.

Ya figure that after all these years,
at least one of the Lads woulda went
on to become some kinda successful
buisness wiz and would have the
acumen to assist the club.

 

[SteveWS]

‘I like it here can I stay?’: the Salford Lads Club – in pictures

‘I like it here can I stay?’: the Salford Lads Club – in pictures

The youth centre immortalised by the Smiths on the sleeve of their third studio album, The Queen Is Dead, is under threat of closure. The Guardian photographer Chris Thomond paid a visit

www.theguardian.com

 

[goinghome]

"A report by English Heritage says: "The building is thought to be the most complete example of this rare form of social provision to survive in England."'

Another great MEN article from yesterday, this one with lots of history from the start (Baden Powell) and Smiths associations

A look back at the history of Salford Lads Club

"There are family links with the club across three generations"

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

 

[JerryCan]

If only there was some long defunct band that could get together again for a last gasp effort for this place. All personal history parked up long enough to provide a lasting lifeline.
All allegations of just doing it for the money easily answered by a big "Yes - for the SLC!".
It's a gift really for everyone.

 

[April Snow]

I guess sometimes things are just not viable anymore? And it soon becomes a case of throwing good money after bad?
It would be nice if this is sold, if they kept the original sign as a heritage thing?
They do that sometimes here in Australia with old buildings.

 

[That's Enough For Me]

I'm going to guess that the place is run by kind hearted and well meaning people with little to no business acumen whatsoever?

 

[Les Tameside]

I'm going to guess that the place is run by kind hearted and well meaning people with little to no business acumen whatsoever?

Exactly the kind of people that should be running the place—people who know the institution’s value rather than its price.

 

[Famous when dead]