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Daphne’s Story – Check-in and Chat

Daphne has been receiving befriending calls through Racing Welfare’s Check-in and Chat service for several years since her husband, a former racing industry employee, sadly passed away. She’s received regular phonecalls from a couple of different volunteers during that time, and is currently paired with Louise, a volunteer from Newmarket. Every three weeks, Daphne receives […]

Rita and Lesley’s story: Check-In and Chat

Rita is 89 and has been part of Lambourn’s racing community for most of her life, with her late husband having rides as a jockey and later selling horseboxes before sadly passing away. Over the years Rita has enjoyed attending Racing Welfare’s community events and outings, however, when Covid-19 resulted in a national lockdown during […]

Rebecca Elvin – Check-in & Chat Volunteer

The unprecedented curb on social interactions over the past year due to the Coronavirus pandemic has compounded feelings of loneliness and isolation for many and the check-in and chat calls have become a vital area of support to combat loneliness. The calls are made by volunteers to anyone in racing and breeding who needs a […]

Check-in and Chat Q&A

Regional Welfare Manager, Aimee Hockley-Righton, tells us more about Racing Welfare’s Check-in and Chat service and the positive impact it has had on those using the service.  

About Racing’s ‘Check-in and Chat’ Service

Racing Welfare provides a telephone Check-in and Chat service for anyone in the horseracing community that feels lonely, isolated or simply in need of someone to talk to. Racing Welfare’s Check-in and Chat service was set up to combat loneliness and social isolation amongst the horseracing community and in 2022 the service facilitated over 283 hours […]

It’s not always easy to find time for yourself, let alone for others, alongside running your own business. However, for Eileen volunteering with Racing Welfare was “definitely meant to be.”

Eileen has spent her life in the racing and bloodstock world and now runs a busy stud with her husband, Keith. She started volunteering with Racing Welfare’s Check-In and Chat service in 2020, during the first Covid-19 lockdown after losing her dad to the virus in April that year. Not long after her father’s death, […]

POPULAR MIDDLEHAM STABLES OPEN DAY SET TO RAISE VITAL FUNDS FOR RACING’S PEOPLE

Come along to Racing Welfare’s ARC Middleham Open Day this Good Friday, 7th April, to enjoy a day packed full of family-friendly activities, whilst raising money for racing’s human welfare charity. The Arena Racing Company sponsored day provides racing fans and the local community with a unique opportunity to visit some of the area’s most […]

Case Study: Esther Spencer

Esther loved her job as a Head Person at one of Middleham’s racing yards. That was until a head injury caused her health to deteriorate quite rapidly, and she found herself needing support from racing’s human welfare charity, Racing Welfare. Esther was usure what was causing her chronic neurological symptoms, symptoms that had come and […]

Mental Health Awareness Week – Simon Bailey

The theme of this years Mental Health Awareness Week is loneliness. The thought that loneliness is closely linked to poor mental health is a sad one. Feelings of loneliness are personal and differ from person to person. There can be times when we are in a room full of friends, seemingly enjoying ourselves, but deep […]