Crawley special schools to receive money earmarked for mayor’s annual ball

The pandemic may have all but suffocated Crawley mayor’s fundraising efforts but his chosen charities will not go without.
Manor Green CollegeManor Green College
Manor Green College

Councillors have agreed to split the money that would have been spent on the annual Mayoral Ball between Manor Green School and Manor Green College.

That will be £2,500 each for the special schools, in Ifield.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The donation was agreed at a meeting of the full council on Wednesday (December 16)

The Mayor, Francis Guidera, praised the work of the schools, which cater for children with special educational needs, physical needs and life-limiting conditions, and said the money was ‘there for the public benefit, not for me to throw an event’.

The donation was described as ‘great news’ by David Reid, head of Manor Green School, who said it would be given to the Friends of Manor Green and put towards projects such as the sensory garden, which is used by children with more complex needs.

The decision to hand over the money was unanimous, with several councillors speaking highly of the school and college.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Bob Burgess (Con, Three Bridges) called them ‘wonderful educational institutions’ and described the staff as ‘fantastic’ before pledging to give £250 and appealing for people to make donations of their own.

This was the full council’s final vote of what has been an atrocious year and Duncan Crow (Con, Furnace Green) said: “I’m really glad that we are ending on a high and able to do something so worthwhile for such a deserving cause.”

Thanking Mr Guidera for choosing Manor Green, Mr Reid said he hoped some kind of celebration could be held in 2021 when Covid restriction are hopefully relaxed.

He added: “It’s great that the mayor picked a local charity and is looking after the most vulnerable children in Crawley, which is fantastic news for us.”

Related topics: