Castalla invests 72,500 euros in grants for students and sports entities in the municipality

• The scholarships for education amount to 46,500 euros and are intended for children in nursery school, university students, students in training cycles, as well as school materials for the children’s cycle
• Subsidies to sports entities amount to a total of 26,000 euros

The Castalla City Council has allocated a total of 72,500 euros in grants for students and sports entities in the municipality. On the one hand, education grants total 46,500 euros, broken down into three different items. These grants are divided into those for children; those for university students and those for training courses and, thirdly, those for the purchase of school materials for children. On the other hand, the subsidies for sports reach 26,000 euros, without counting the games that the sports schools of Castalla have already received.

In the field of education, specifically, the Castalla City Council will invest a total of 46,500 euros in various grants for the 2019-2020 academic year. This was approved by the Plenary in the ordinary session held on 29 July. The Mayor of Castalla, Antonio Bernabeu, said that “the effort made by the council investing in education is necessary. Our neighbours must be guaranteed access to a dignified education of the highest possible quality”.

Specifically, the three scholarships that can be applied for are the following: firstly, the scholarship for children from 0 to 2 years old enrolled in the Ninos nursery school, which has a maximum budget of 30,000 euros, which translates into a monthly grant of 93 euros per student. Then there are the study grants for university students and training cycles; in this case, the maximum amount for this item is 11,000 euros. Thirdly, contributions for books and school materials for children, which total 5,500 euros. The mayor of education, Saul Mira, has confirmed that this is “a grant that we deliver each year as a sign of the commitment of this City Council with the training of our neighbors, covering the different stages of education within the system.

In addition, this year applications can be made through the municipal website from August 7, for a period of 15 calendar days, until the 27th. The council has enabled the forms on its page so that those interested can access them electronically in the section ‘Instances’ on the ‘Notice Board’. Once the user has filled in the forms, he can present them in the ‘Entry Register’, with the necessary documentation attached. Saúl Mira, responsible for the areas of culture and education, emphasizes that “with these improvements we speed up the procedures to access the grants and get more people to benefit from them. If users have any doubts about these procedures, they can contact sac@castalla.org.

26,000 euros for local sports entities and associations
In relation to aid dedicated to sports entities, the Councillor for Sports, Roman Saez, reported that “the Consistory will devote 26,000 euros in aid to clubs or local sports entities, which carry out activities related to sport and are domiciled in the town. In this sense, the head of the sports area in Castalla has assured that the objective of the Government Team is “to continue with the policy of supporting sport in the municipality that the City Council maintains, both in terms of the athletes, as well as the different clubs that we have”.

In accordance with the approved rules, the grants are intended for associations dedicated to the promotion of Sports Initiation Schools, those that organize and participate in sports events, campaigns and competitions and those that have local teams or federated sportsmen of higher category. Those institutions with a profit-making purpose are not eligible for subsidies. Sáez stresses that “this year, for the first time, we have separated the subsidies received by sports schools -which have already been awarded- from those granted to other clubs, included in this call”.

In total, the initial allocation from the Department of Sports for grants to local clubs was 150,000 euros. This allocation could not be delivered in full because the irruption of the Covid-19 interrupted sporting competitions. The councilman Roman Saez recalls that “in 2018 this item amounted to 130,000 euros and currently stands at 150,000, a sample of the council’s investment in the sports fabric castellut.

The clubs and entities interested in accessing these grants may submit their applications from August 7 until September 18, both included.