The Club re-brands as a Community Benefit Society for the future
Kirkby Stephen Sports and Social Club has been at the heart of the Kirkby Stephen community for over 60 years. The Club now has a public licence and is accessing advice and support from the Plunkett Foundation as a Community Benefit Society. The management team is keen to extend its membership and also urgently needs to recruit new committee members to secure the Club’s future.
The Club is building on its reputation as a traditional social club and venue for local events and now wants to recruit new people for the Committee so that a wide range of ideas can be built into a sustainable plan for the future.
The Club’s Manager, Angela Dobson said: “We still value our core membership – local people who will support the Club and regularly meet up with friends here – but the move to a public licence means we can be more open to other parts of the community too. We’re keen to expand on the range of activities, which include regular DJ nights, live music, exercise classes and arts events, so that anyone in Kirkby Stephen can come along and enjoy a local night out.”
Kirkby Stephen-based business manager, Tracey Crewdson, and pub expert, Lisa Langton have been working with the Plunkett Foundation, Committee members and management of the Club to rebrand, revamp and refresh things: “We recently launched our annual membership at just £20,” Tracey says, “or £15 with a direct debit. And that brings added benefits and discounts for members. Everyone is keen to retain and grow that core group of customers, so we hope to attract new members as well as our regulars. People in the town will also notice new poster designs and signage for The Club as we use the new branding. It sounds like a lot of change but it’s still the same combination of a good bar, music, sports like darts, dominos and pool, and great local events and now it’s open to everyone.”
The Club, which operates as a Community Benefit Society, is open seven days a week. It has a main bar on the ground floor with smaller meeting rooms too, a great garden space at the back and then a larger function room with a bar upstairs. The additional rooms are all available for hire to local people.
Club Manager, Angela is enjoying being part of the plans for the future. “If we can grow the membership and recruit Committee members, that will give us the security to plan for years to come.”
“We already have a lot of younger members who pop in for a drink after work and a game of pool, dominos or darts – many clubs like ours don’t have that mix of generations and interests and it’s a key part of our success. Now we just need some of those members to give up a few hours a month to come on to the Committee. Mind you, it would be great to have extra people willing to do bar shifts as part of the team too.”
If anyone reading this would be interested in getting involved in any way at all, please contact Angela and the team at The Club on 017683 72332 or via kirkbyclub@outlook.co.uk.