Latest news with #MickBates
Powys County Times
04-06-2025
- General
- Powys County Times
Community fund in memory of Powys politician opens for 2025
A community fund named after a former Assembly Member for Montgomeryshire is now open for applications. After a year of fundraising in memory of Welsh politician Mick Bates, a community fund established by his family has officially opened for applications after already giving away more than £10,000 to local groups and initiatives. The fund officially opened on June 1, having been set up by the family of the former Assembly Member shortly after he passed away in August 2022 from bone cancer. He served as Member of the Welsh Assembly for Montgomeryshire from 1999 to 2011. Ruth Bates, Mick's daughter, said: 'We're deeply grateful to everyone who has supported our fundraising - whether through events or online donations. 'The Fund's purpose is to bring people together to create positive change. Mick believed in action and in the power of people working side by side to make a difference. 'We hope these grants will play a small but meaningful role in improving lives and strengthening communities.' Having initially raised funds through donations to the JustGiving page, donations at the funeral and fundraising events, the fund then invited community groups and charities that work to benefit the people of Montgomeryshire, particularly Llanfair Caereinion and the Banwy Valley to apply for grant funding. The fund was able to distribute more than £10,000 to community groups and initiatives, such as Llanfair Caereinion Institute, Ffrindiau Ysgol Bro Caereinion Friends, Cancer Research Llanfair Caereinion Branch, Llanfair Caereinion Bowling Club, New Life Church, Cylch Meithrin Banw, Llanfair United Football Club, and Caffi Cymunedol Llanfair Caereinion Community Café. The Fund invites applications from community groups and charities working to benefit the people of Montgomeryshire, with particular focus on those serving Llanfair Caereinion and the Banwy Valley. Grants of between £100 and £1,000 are available. Cadvan Evans, Chair of the Mick Bates Community Memorial Trust Fund, added: 'This Fund is about keeping Mick's legacy alive by supporting the causes he cared about most - young people, the environment, helping those in need, and community development.'
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Community gathers to remember Upper Big Branch mining disaster 15 years later
BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) – 15 years ago, disaster struck at the Upper Big Branch Mine. Remembering the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster 14 years later Explosions tore through the mine, killing 29 people and injuring two others at this mine in Montcoal. Since then, Mick Bates has been instrumental in continuing to remember those who were lost in the disaster, as well as their families. 'This was our 9/11. I mean this was probably the date that everybody in this community will continue to remember forever. The eyes of the world were on us. We shone. We came together in a way that was pretty special,' said Bates. West Virginia District 9 State Senator and pastor Rollan Roberts showed up to remember this devastating event. 'I know what it is for families to deal with grief. I understand that when you have lost a close loved one like these families did, it is very real. Even 15 years later, they rehearse all of those things pretty much every day,' said Roberts. This disaster hit close to home for people like Bates, who is the son and grandson of coal miners. West Virginia's worst mining disasters of the 1900's 'As you get older, you recognize more and more your own mortality. You know, my daughter, she was two [when this happened]. She is 17 now. I mean, I can think where we were, what we were doing all the life that has gone through that, all the life we have lived over 15 years. These [coal miners] did not get to live their life. They have got kids, grandkids that have grown up without them. We take a lot of things for granted. Tomorrow is not given. There are men today that continue to work, the kind of work that they do and put themselves in harm's way to raise money for their families, to support them and provide resources for us to live the life that we live,' said Bates. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
