Damian Corbett, of Well Park Place, Stoke Fleming, writes: I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who has raised funds to help in our objective to reopen Stoke Fleming Youth Club. We are very fortunate to have a purpose built youth club in the village built on land kindly donated by Bertha Bidder to the parish in the 1920s. With no personal gain to herself, Ms Bidder's incredible act of kindness nearly 100 years ago has left a long legacy of recreation on the spot where the youth club now stands. Inspired by my grandfathers's efforts during the 1970s to secure the lease of the land and subsequently build a new club, I was elected chairman of a new committee of the club at a meeting on March 10. Our initial aim was to raise funds to open the club for the benefit of local children. The need for a place for young people to meet and socialise outside school is particularly important in rural areas such as ours, where affordable recreational facilities are not always in abundance. It would be easy to think that the community spirit of Ms Bidder's bequest is long gone in the 21st century. I am delighted to say that this proved not to be the case as the community has come together to raise funds to allow us to open the club in the coming months. There are a number of people I would like to publicly thank on behalf of the young people who will in due course be our members. Andrew Watson and his suppliers for donating and fitting a much-needed kitchen. Our local postman and shopkeeper Bob, whose heroic efforts in the London Marathon led to contributions from villagers in the local shop and became our biggest single donation. Many people have shown amazing generosity and donated various items such as sofas and games consoles. Our local drama group, Little SODS, held a raffle and donated £250. We have also recieved a number of other smaller donations too numerous to list here but thanks to all it really is vital and without these donations we would not be able to restart the club. I would also like to mention the efforts of Jackie Marsh, who almost single-handedly ran the club for the best part of 20 years. Without her the building would have long since crumbled away and countless local people have fond memories of using the club that simply would not have been possible without Jackie's tireless efforts. Our main objective is to provide a safe and fun environment that young people enjoy being in and at little cost, so that nobody is excluded, regardless of their family's financial circumstances. This is why on-going fundraising is so important, if any group or individual would like to hold a fund raising event please do no hesitate to contact me. Lastly, I would like to appeal to everyone in Stoke Fleming, Dartmouth and surrounding villages to give whatever time they can to help us in the run-up to our reopening and the subsequent running of the club. Having a building solely for use by young people is a precious resource for the people who are the future of our community and it is an absolute privilege to be a small part of the project. Anyone who would like to come on board and be part of it is most welcome. Currently we need help with painting, a few small jobs which requires a qualified electrician and, of course, help with running sessions. We will always welcome new committee members and will be holding a meeting in due course prior to opening. I can be contacted by email at [email protected]">[email protected].