A big thanks to you from Racing Welfare
Racing Welfare is saying thank you to the racing industry this week as we are delighted to announce that our Covid-19 Emergency Appeal has hit its £500k target!
Fran Marshall, a member of the Racing Conversation group said “Having worked at racecourses in a sociable, customer facing role for more than 30 years it was a big change to suddenly have to self-isolate on my own.
Racing Welfare’s weekly Racing Conversation Q&A’s have helped me to feel that sense of community and to connect with others, albeit from behind a screen. The hosts are entertaining, informative and give insight right across the industry, I look forward to tuning in every Thursday.”
The appeal was launched when the pandemic hit to make up for the huge income deficit that we faced as COVID meant the cancellation of our usual fundraising events. It is testament to the generosity of the racing industry that the £500k target has been reached before the end of the year.
The announcement comes in the same week we have sent out nearly 600 Christmas Boxes to retired racing staff who in normal times would be joining together for Christmas lunches across the country. Finding ways of bringing the racing community together during the pandemic has been a key part of our work to combat loneliness and isolation during 2020. Projects such as check-in calls and the Facebook group, Racing Conversation, have provided lifelines to many over what has been a tough time.
The kindness and generosity shown by donors from across the racing industry have been astounding and we want to say a huge thank you to each and every person who has donated to our Emergency Appeal over the last few months. The success of our virtual events has also played a big role in reaching the £500k target. From big racing organisations to individual donors, every penny contributed has helped the charity to adapt quickly to the changes this year has brought and enabled them to continue to provide crucial services to racing’s workforce.