By Ruth Dowds
A BANGOR mother of two is getting down to business at her youngest son’s school to launch an ambitious programme of money-making ventures.
Happy memories of her own primary school days have prompted Catherine Cochrane to use her acumen as a business professional to help raise extra funds for Bloomfield Primary School.
Catherine is head of a newly launched Parent Teacher Association (PTA) committee at the school, which has ambitions to pay for a library before setting its sights on buying tablets for every pupil at the school.
“We are trying to raise the money to give the kids the best opportunities available to them,” says Catherine, who works in business development.
“I’m looking at this from the point of what we can do and how we can make it more profitable.
“Reading is so important and a lot of the books they currently have are old or borrowed. We want them to have a corner set aside in the school where they will have books that belong to them,” she says.
Under her helm the PTA’s first money-spinner is an outdoor Christmas fair and market which is being held at the school on December 12 from 6-8pm.
Catherine has been in touch with local secondary and grammar schools to invite pupils who are part of a young enterprise initiative to set up stalls at the market, to sell their products.
The council has helped out by providing a gazebo and, as Catherine says, “anyone can come, the more the merrier.”
Entry is free and there will be raffles and gift vouchers for sale, along with activities for the children such as face painting, games, arts and crafts.
Catherine adds: “There will also be food such as burgers, ice cream, buns and some local businesses will have stalls there, so it’s a great opportunity to buy Christmas presents and personalised home-made gifts as well.”
She is hoping that the event will attract interest from people who might be able to offer a few spare hours of their time to help out at future PTA events – or indeed who might have ideas for future fundraising events.
“My primary school years were my best years and I remember them very fondly,” she says.
“I want the kids to have the opportunity to do things or to have things that the school can’t afford to buy because of budgets being cut.”
If you’d like to help out with other PTA events please email the PTA committee at friendsofbloomfieldpta@gmail.com
