Pembrokeshire people were delighted to get back into Bluestone’s Blue Lagoon to enjoy the thrills of the waterpark and raise money for a fantastic local cause.

The Blue Lagoon at Bluestone National Park Resort used to be open to local visitors who could come and enjoy the pool, wave machine, jacuzzis and water slides alongside guests holidaying at the park.

This facility stopped during the Covid 19 lockdown and was never restarted much to the disappointment of local people.

Last year Bluestone announced that it would reopen the Blue Lagoon to locals for fundraising events.

The first of these has raised thousands of pounds for mental health charity, Get the Boys a lift.

Nearly 600 locals enjoyed the first blue Lagoon fundraising evening, the first in a series of community events being held at the water park.

Get The Boys A Lift was the first Pembrokeshire organisation to benefit from the ticket sales. The event raised around £6,000 with 75 per cent of that money going directly to GTBAL and the remaining 25 per cent directed to the Bluestone Foundation.

The community events are designed not only to allow locals exclusive access to the Blue Lagoon, but also to generate much-needed funds for charities and not-for-profit organisations in Pembrokeshire.

The first event marked the relaunch of the Bluestone Foundation and the reopening of the community fund. Pembrokeshire charities and not-for-profit organisations can now apply for money from this fund as well as to host the Blue Lagoon events.

Since its inception, the Bluestone Foundation has distributed around £333,000 to ‘help people, help themselves’ through economic, social, and environmental initiatives. Bluestone is committed to continuing this support and the GTBAL event has given a renewed impetus to the foundation.

The next community event held at the Blue Lagoon will be on May 28th and proceeds will be going to the VC Gallery in Haverfordwest. The foundation has previously worked closely with the VC Gallery, which helps veterans and the community through the medium of art engagement.

The foundation will continue to work with Pembrokeshire Association of Voluntary Services (PAVS) to help ensure funds are awarded in a fair and transparent way.

PAVS will help and advise potential applicants to the community fund before passing them on for the consideration of the Bluestone Foundation Committee.

Marten Lewis, chairman of the Bluestone Foundation said: “Our first community event at the Blue Lagoon was a sell-out and it was lovely to see so many locals enjoying the facilities while raising much-needed funds.”

Lorna Livock, funding development officer at PAVS, added: “Looking to the year ahead PAVS welcomes the refreshed partnership with Bluestone Foundation with the relaunch of the Bluestone Foundation Community Fund funding social and environmental projects in Pembrokeshire.

“This exciting collaboration unites Bluestone’s passion for supporting Pembrokeshire communities with PAVS’ fund management experience and connection to third sector groups.

“Local funding opportunities for impactful grassroots community projects are especially vital at a time of reduced funding budgets. We can’t wait to see the projects which come forward.”

Working with PAVS means Bluestone can tap into their expertise when it comes to helping new projects get off the ground, helping groups keep up to date with legislation and current issues for the sector and assisting with recruitment and support of volunteers and volunteer management.

Organisations can apply to the Bluestone Foundation through PAVS all year round.

Tickets for the next community event at the Blue Lagoon can be purchased by clicking on this link or visiting www.eventbrite.com/e/blue-lagoon-community-event-for-the-vc-gallery-tickets-830094574217?aff=oddtdtcreator.