The year so far

Racing Welfare – the year so far

 

It has been a busy start to the year for Racing Welfare, staging several fundraising events whilst continuing to respond to high levels of demand for support from racing’s people as the cost of living continues to impact so many in a myriad of ways.

 

Events season began with nearly 450 supporters joining Racing Welfare for their annual Aintree Lunch. This year the event was supported by the ROA as a continuation of the partnership and raised over £63,000 for the charity.

 

This summer’s mass-participation fundraiser saw 100 people from across the racing community, including a team from the ROA, come together to take on the stamina sapping Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge. The challenge was sponsored by Tote and Tattersalls and has so far raised over £50,000.

 

Further fundraising events this year have included the ever-popular ARC Middleham Open Day and the Woburn Golf Day which each raised in the region of £25,000 for racing’s people.

 

In addition to staging these large-scale events, Racing Welfare’s team have hosted numerous community events up and down the country throughout the first half of the year - the jewel in the crown being the annual retired beneficiary holiday which took place in May and saw over 50 retired racing staff treated to a week’s trip to Cheshire, where they enjoyed a visit to Michael Owen’s Manor House Stables. Kirstie, daughter of two of the beneficiaries on the holiday commented: “It has been so lovely to see [my parents] enjoying themselves and having the opportunity to socialise with so many like-minded people. I appreciate that these opportunities require a huge amount of planning and time but to see my parents (especially my Dad) up on the dance floor and beaming is so lovely for me. Thank you.”

 

Racing Welfare continues to work hard to raise awareness of the holistic support available to all those in the racing community, with May’s Mental Health Awareness Week campaign (as reported in the June issue of The Owner Breeder) being a prime example. That work continued with the seventh Racing Staff Week at the end of June, which brought together the whole of the racing community to celebrate the hard work and dedication of racing’s workforce. Activities during the week included five charity races, giving 53 members of stable staff the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to ride in a race whilst also raising vital funds for Racing Welfare. Racing Welfare’s regional teams also hosted 14 community events at locations across the country. Events ranged from rounders and BBQs to bingo nights and quizzes, bringing together almost 500 members of the racing community whilst also raising awareness of charity’s services.