Norfolk leaders back YMCA £1.1m appeal

YMCA Norfolk has appointed a high profile Council of Patrons to help its 150th anniversary appeal reach its target.

Headed by Rt Rev Graham James, Bishop of Norwich, the Council will help to raise the £1.1million needed to complete the second phase of development of residential facilities planned to replace the existing hostel on St Giles.

Funding is already in place for the £2.7m 34-room development next to the new Norwich bus station site and a further £3m has been allocated to the second phase of 40 self-contained move-on accommodation units within the city. A further £1.1m funds are needed to be found from a public appeal.

Joining the Bishop of Norwich on the Council are a number of senior civic and commercial county figures including MPs, senior politicians and well known businesspeople.

They include local MPs Charles Clarke, Ian Gibson, Richard Bacon and Norman Lamb, Lord-Lieutenant of Norfolk Richard Jewson, and other high-profile figures such as Sir Nicholas Bacon, Lisa Christensen, Michael Churchouse, Rev Hereward Cooke, Cllr Ian Couzens, General Sir Richard Dannatt, Rosemary English, Caroline Jarrold, Paul King, Cllr Stephen Morphew, Patrick Snowball, Mark Jeffries, Richard Jarrold, Lady Kay Fisher, Nigel Savory and Henry Cator.

YMCA Norfolk Chief Executive Officer, and current Sheriff of Norwich, John Drake, said: "I am delighted that people with civic and leadership responsibilities for our community are prepared to publicly support the mission of the YMCA as it embraces the challenges of the next 150 years and help us reach the objectives of our anniversary appeal ."

"The Bishop of Norwich has enthusiastically supported our vision to remodel our residential facilities in the city centre and he instigated and will chair the Council which meets for the first time on October 6. It is not totally surprising that the family names of our founding fathers of 1856 are as ever present again in 2006."

www.ymca-norfolk.co.uk

Pictured above is Rt Rev Graham James, Bishop of Norwich, who heads the YMCA Norfolk Council of Patrons.

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