Dunshaughlin Scouts' appeal for help to buy new den
A group of Dunshaughlin scouts are involved in a race against time to raise funds to buy a purpose-built den.
After spending years in “temporary” headquarters, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get a permanent den arrived when a private investor put a bid on a premises in Dunshaughlin Business Centre and offered to step away from the investment to allow the 7th Meath Dunshaughlin Scout Group to buy the premises at the final bid of €144,000.
At a recent meeting called at short notice of scouting section leaders and other interested parties it was decided that the chance was too good to pass up because the premises is ideal and ready to walk into with little or no alteration; the purchase price, though sounding daunting, is very little when compared to the cost of other community premises in the village; the scouts have a period of time, although short, to focus their attention towards raising the money; and if and when the group outgrows the premises it can be sold and the funds raised to finance a den on designated community-zoned land.
“We need a home”, the scouts say. They have €30,000 in their kitty and can service a mortgage/loan of €50,000 (the current cost of renting section accommodation).
A mammoth task faces them. A minimum of €66,000 must be raised in an intensive burst over four weeks.
Pat Rathborne of the scout group said they are asking all interested parties to “dig deep” to help them out. He is asking scouts to think of businesses or other interests with an interest in helping the funding drive.
In its 40-year history the scout group has gone from place to place, starting in a portacabin behind the county council offices, the pitch and putt club, Dillons on Navan Road, the Gaelscoil and St Seachnail’s National School, and 'the old plug’ factory.
The scouts have been saving over a few years to put money into a “Den Fund” but it now wants the help of the whole community to get on to GoFundMe and make a generous donation.
See
www.gofundme.com/Den4Dunsh