Digital Media Centre

ALDI INVESTS £8,000 IN SPORTS CLUBS ACROSS LOTHIANS AND SCOTTISH BORDERS

Edinburgh-based Lismore Rugby Football Club received the highest funding available

Aldi has invested £8,000 in ten local sports clubs across the Lothians and Scottish Borders this year as part of the supermarket’s annual Scottish Sport Fund.

As part of the retailer’s wider commitment to help cultivate a healthier Scotland, the fund gives local clubs the chance to receive funding ranging from £500 to £2,500.

Lismore Rugby Football Club secured the highest funding in the region this year, receiving £2,500. The Edinburgh-based charitable organisation, which has two men’s amateur senior teams, one women’s amateur senior team and a community outreach programme, plans to use the funding to start a pilot walking rugby programme for over 50s in the local community.

A slower, non-contact version of the sport, walking rugby is particularly suited to an older audience that are looking to stay fit and active. There are currently no opportunities for individuals to engage with the sport within Edinburgh, and thanks to Aldi’s donation, Lismore Rugby Football Club are going to change this.

Other clubs that have benefitted from this year’s Scottish Sport Fund include Kelso Tennis Club and PHD FUNdamentals – a trampoline and gymnastics club, which each received £1,000. Saltire Gymnastics, Watsonians Hockey Club, 10^th West Lothian Scout Group, Boroughmuir Thistle Football Club, Dysart Sailing Club, Girlguiding Midlothian and Lochend Football Academy were also successful and received £500 each.

Aldi’s Scottish Sport Fund aims to help people of all ages to take part in physical activity within their local communities by giving the clubs the opportunity to secure much needed funding. Since launching in 2016, Aldi has invested over£50,000 and supports over 85 clubs across the Lothians and the Scottish Borders, helping to improve community access to sports across the region.

Eric Jones, Rugby Development Officer at Lismore Rugby Football Club, said: “We are really grateful that our club has received the highest funding available in such a large region. We’re just trying to do our part, keeping people of all ages active, so to be recognised for this is a big achievement for us.

“We applied because we value the mental and physical benefits of exercise and wanted to launch a walking rugby programme in the local community to encourage people to stay active.

“This funding will help us launch a year-long pilot of the programme. I can’t wait to get started!”

Richard Holloway, Regional Managing Director for Scotland, said: “It’s brilliant that a wide variety of sports clubs across the Lothians and the Scottish Borders have been able to benefit from our Scottish Sport Fund initiative. It’s humbling to see how much of a difference extra funding can make to clubs like Lismore Rugby Football Club, and in supporting people across Scotland to lead an active and healthy lifestyle.”

Aldi’s Scottish Sport Fund is open to any sporting organisation in Scotland that meets the criteria, from rugby clubs to after school groups, and everything in between. Groups can apply for funding for a wide range of purposes, including new strips and equipment, or for putting towards the cost of training facilities and coaching.

For more information about Aldi’s Scottish Sport Fund, please visit: www.aldi.co.uk/scottishsportfund.