A GROUP of 125 children from a deprived community are to receive a royal welcome at Cardiff City FC after the club learned about their football teams on Channel 4's Secret Millionaire show.
Pete and Lynda Sullivan's efforts to keep young people in Ely, Cardiff, away from crime first caught the eye of Secret Millionaire Richard North on the prime-time show.
Mr North's £15,000 donation helped pay to upgrade changing facilities and showers at the Ely Rec to help the couple keep children off the streets -and he also gave the dedicated duo a £5,000 cheque so they could pay off their debts and take a holiday.
The couple, who are mem-
bers of the Ely Garden Villagers group, said the publicity from the show had earned them respect across Cardiff.
Cardiff City's marketing manager approached Pete at the ground and offered him 125 tickets for the children in the Villagers' football teams to attend Cardiff City's next match against Preston on December 4. The club is also planning to sponsor and provide coaching support to the children and training equipment.
Pete, a train driver, said: "I was queuing at the football ground and their marketing manager tapped me on the
shoulder and offered me the tickets. He said he was so inspired by watching us on the show, he wanted to do something for us.
"He said he liked what we were doing to keep the kids away from crime and drugs.
"Wheedons Coaches have said they will lay on transport for us, for nothing.
"We never thought in a million years we'd be recognised by Cardiff City. The kids are so excited. They are ecstatic. They'll be there in their jackets with the EGV logo and their own initials, which we've been able to buy for them."
Since the Ely Garden Villagers were formed in 2007, the couple have formed five football teams, from an initial
training session last March when more than 150 children turned up.
There are now two under-lOs teams, another for under-12s, an under-14s and an under-16s all full of enthusiastic children who want to play, want to get to the top of their league. Anecdotally,
Pete and Lynda say, crime and antisocial behaviour has decreased in the area.
Among the investments they have brought into the community has been a £15,000 grant from the Assembly’s Tidy Towns scheme, to repair the fence around the 'Rec'
something locals have been trying to achieve for close to a decade.
Pete added: "We got 98 children off the streets and they look fantastic in their kit, which is all the same, instead of whatever football tops we had to hand."
COME rain or shine the Ely Community always stick together and on Saturday, June 18, the Ely and Caerau community celebrated 31 years of working together for our festival.
The community had to endure heavy rain and wind while getting ready to walk in the parade.
In order to keep spirits up I shouted "chin up, we won't melt in the rain, we may get wet, we have to carry on because the community are waiting to see all the hard work you have all done".
So well done to everyone that walked in the parade despite the weather.
The sun did eventually shine on us and we were lucky to have the weather on our side.
Well done to Andy and staff from Ely Play Centre for all your hard work I never felt so proud and a special thanks to the community for showing their support.
Many people may not realise the hard work that was involved for the parade to be the success it was.
Andy and his staff did a fantastic job, and our minibus looked great with a castle on the roof and lots of designs around the bus, the theme being fairy tales. A special thanks to the Community Trust Fund for giving funding for our minibus.
A big thank you to Paris Dillon-Bennett for singing the song "We are from Ely" and inspiring the parade to sing from start to finish in the parade.
Also a big thank you to all who made the Ely Festival the success it was North Ely Youth Centre, Communities First, the police and everyone else that worked so hard.
If everyone wants to know who we are we tell them we are from Ely, and if they can't hear us we shout a bit louder!
Lynda Sullivan
Secretary of Ely Garden
Villagers
the Hibs on to more success
I WOULD like to congratulate Cardiff Hibernian senior sides, the A side won the football league with the B side being runners-up.
Not only did the A side win the football league, they also won the Cardiff Combination Cup for the first time in history at Cwrt-Yr-Alla with victory over First Division Jug & Bottle. This now means the Hibs have gained promotion to the South Wales Amateur League.
When the Hibs approached our group, Ely Garden Villagers, to work in partnership to help with the youth football, we were a bit wary of their commitment But these guys have shown true dedication during the football season, they kept their word in bringing more football teams into Ely.
They now coach two under-l0s, under-12s, under-14s and under-16s, and give up their free time after a long day's work to make sure they are there for the youth football teams. Saturday mornings they were there for the youth side games and then went on into the afternoon to play their own games.
This all paid off and I am proud to say the under-12s and 16s also won the Football league, bringing the Ely community closer, These guys are a pleasure to work with. They are a lovely bunch of lads with such determination to get football back in Ely,
The Hibs had great support at their home ground with many turning up and cheering them on. What we need now is a main sponsor to sponsor the senior A team, with the possibility of more sponsors sponsoring our other football teams.
Maybe you lived in Ely and have become successful and would like to sponsor our teams, or perhaps there are companies out there which believe the Hibs are worth sponsoring.
I believe they deserve some support after all their hard work and it would be great to see sponsors on their football kits. They are keeping the kids off the streets and getting them involved in competitive football. If you can help in any way I would be truly grateful. Please feel free to contact me on 07825 517555,
Lynda Sullivan
Secretary of Ely Garden Villagers
Cardiff
The children pictured are Darren Tobin, Lacey Tobin, Jennarose Morgan-Allwood, Aaron Marinos, Ryan Marines, Ashton Donovan, Alexander Lewis, Jakob Biggs and Charlie Hunt
WELL done to Ely Play Centre it now has its much-loved swing back. Last year I sent in a picture and letter to Viewpoints about our missing tyre swing.
It was taken away due to failing the test for safety reasons, (wear and tear not vandalism). Due to cutbacks it looked like the tyre swing was lost for ever.
They say all good things come to those who wait, and the children waited for nearly a year but the wait was worth it.
The children are so pleased the swing is back and would like to say a big thank-you for finding the money to replace it.
The children's Play Centre also had another piece of play equipment which the children call the cage. They are being
well used and the children can have much more fun during the summer holidays.
A big thank-you to the Echo for printing the letter and pictures last October.
Click Here
It just goes to show what can be achieved by using the power of the Press.
I have enclosed pictures of the children enjoying their new play equipment,
which their parents are keen to share with Echo readers. Once
again, many thanks for putting the smile back on the children's faces.
Lynda Sullivan Llewellyn Avenue, Ely, Cardiff
