Marlborough community groups urged to pitch for £1,000 prize (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Marlborough community groups urged to pitch for £1,000 prize

11:05am Tuesday 19th June 2012 in News

What would you do with £1,000? That’s the question being posed to community organisations in Marlborough, who are being invited to take part in an event billed as Dragon’s Den meets Britain’s Got Talent for a share of a £6,000 jackpot.

The community giveaway is being staged by Oxfordshire-based retail group Fraser’s, which is opening a petrol station, Budgens convenience store and Subway outlet at Marlborough Business Park in the autumn.

From now until September 1, local good causes are invited to nominate themselves for a community grant. From July 16 until September 7, a public poll will select nine finalists, who will be invited to pitch their projects to a live voting audience at Theatre on the Hill in Marlborough on Thursday September 20.

Shops development manager Nick Fraser said: “We want to be an important part of the Marlborough Community, and one of the best ways we can do that is to support some of the worthwhile organisations who work so hard to make Marlborough such a great place to live.”

Finalists will be in the spotlight, as representatives from each community group are invited to pitch their ideas from the theatre stage. Organisers are hoping that groups will use their imaginations to bring their presentations to life.

“You could show a film or slide show of your project,” said group operations manager Mark Wilson, “But if you’re a band and you need money for equipment, wouldn’t it be a great idea to play a piece of music? And if you’re a football team that needs a new kit, would you get more votes with a demonstration of your soccer skills?”

The three community projects that receive the most votes on the night will walk away with cheques for £1,000. And all of the nine finalists will get a share of another £1,000 over the first three months of the new forecourt opening.

Customers will be given a token each time they shop, to vote for one of three organisations per month. Each of these three organisations will get a share of £1,000, proportional to the amount of tokens they receive in-store.

Organisations wishing to apply should head to the Budgens Marlborough Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BudgensMarlborough and complete the online form. Application guidelines are also available on the page.

Work on the £2 million development, which will create 50 new jobs, starts in July.