NetDespatch donates £5500 toward fight to save Longridge Youth Development Centre
08 October 2007

NetDespatch has donated £5500 toward saving Longridge, a famous water sports and activity centre on the Thames. The centre near Marlow, which caters for young people of all backgrounds and abilities, has been under threat from development. The donation provides a huge boost to the charity, which is trying to a raise the final £50,000 (of a total of £1.2 million) to secure the long term future for Longridge and protect the site from future development.

NetDespatch is a world innovator in the provision of web software and services to the transport industry. Every year the firm’s staff vote on a charity to support, and the company then donates a proportion of its turnover to their chosen cause. Last year NetDespatch raised a total of £3900 for Childline. But with turnover tripling in the last twelve months, this initial £5500 donation to Longridge for the first half-year, is a direct result of this success.

Three of the staff at NetDespatch have been so inspired by the work done by Longridge that they are also providing direct support to the centre, working in their free time with volunteer teams which provide help with maintenance and administration.

With its origins as a Scout Association site, Longridge attracts close to 30,000 visitors a year from all backgrounds, from schools, volunteer youth groups and charities. Longridge changes lives, giving young people from all backgrounds a unique opportunity to build self confidence and gain life skills by experiencing the challenges of a variety of water based activities. It is also the UK’s premier water sports training centre and home of the Olympic Women’s Rowing Squad and national kayak teams (http://www.longridge-uk.org/).

“NetDespatch has its origins in Marlow, dating back to the 1980’s, and many of our staff live in the town. Longridge, and the work it does for young people both locally and nationwide, has always been an important part of living in this beautiful area. When our staff learnt that Longridge was under threat, a large majority voted for it as the preferred charity and we are delighted to be able to make this preliminary donation – the size of which is due directly to the superb efforts of our staff in supporting our rapid growth,” says NetDespatch CEO Becky Clark.