Karate club floored by crematorium’s donation
Members of a long-running family-friendly karate club in Clevedon were floored when they found out about a £1,000 donation from Westerleigh Cemetery & Crematorium.
The money will go towards buying new tracksuit tops for students at Clevedon Karate Kai, a non-profit organisation which has been running in the town for more than 30 years.
The donation came from the crematorium’s metal recycling fund.
With the consent of families, metals recovered during cremation are recycled, and any money raised is used to support selected charities, local activities and environmental initiatives which benefit the communities that the crematorium serves.
Westerleigh Cemetery & Crematorium is part of Westerleigh Group, one of the UK’s largest independent owners and operators of crematoria and cemeteries, with 40 sites in England, Scotland, and Wales, all set within beautifully landscaped gardens of remembrance which provide peaceful places for people to visit and reflect.
Manager Shaun Chapman-Young said: “The suggestion to support this club came from Marzena Zagrobelna, a member of our finance team, whose son has been a member for seven years.
“The group is a little further out of Bristol than other organisations we have supported, and although it isn’t bereavement-related, we have several funeral directors in and around the Clevedon area who use Westerleigh Crematorium, so we saw this as the perfect opportunity to give something back to their communities.”
Marzena added: “This is a small club which operates as a non-profit organisation, and which also tries to support children whose families do not have the means to allow them to attend other clubs, which operate for profit.
“Recent years have been difficult for the club, with the Covid pandemic resulting in the loss of many members, but it is now expanding again.
“Our donation will help the club give its members new tracksuits, the costs of which are not low, and not every club member can afford to pay for kit themselves.
“Having a club kit means that, when they go to competitions, members will feel more confident because they will be able to identify with the club, and that feeling of belonging gives many of the young members a sense of value and builds their confidence.”
Kevin Barrett, one of the founders of the club, which currently has around 45 members aged between five and 59, said: “I can’t thank Westerleigh Crematorium enough for this generous donation.
“When I told our members, and their parents, about the donation, they were absolutely thrilled and it will mean so much to us all to have a new club kit. We’re very grateful.”
For more information about Westerleigh Cemetery & Crematorium, as well as the exceptional care and support it provides to the bereaved in creating uniquely personal funerals and memorials for their loved ones, visit www.westerleighcrem.co.uk
