Coffee Mornings launch in Gloucestershire for retired racing staff
On the 19th April 2017, Racing Welfare are holding the first Coffee Morning for people who have retired from the horseracing industry in the Gloucestershire area. The coffee morning will be held at the beautiful Richmond Retreats in Painswick and is free of charge to attend for anyone who has worked within the industry at any stage during their career.
Racing Welfare currently organises popular monthly coffee mornings in the racing centres of Newmarket, Epsom, Lambourn, Malton and Middleham. The charity has identified that there are a large number of retired racing staff who are living in Gloucestershire and the surrounding areas after having worked at one of the large number of racing yards and studs located in the county and therefore have decided to introduce the coffee morning scheme to this area too.
Racing Welfare’s coffee mornings are part of a wider campaign to prevent social isolation and loneliness within horseracing’s retired population. Loneliness is a prevalent and growing problem nationally and it can lead to serious health implications. By engaging people in social activities the charity hopes to catch the problems in their early stages, making them more straightforward and easier to resolve. As well as coffee mornings, the charity runs trips and outings around the country for retired, injured and incapacitated beneficiaries along with Christmas lunches and holidays. Furthermore, by coming to coffee mornings or trips and outings, retired people are able to engage with the charity and find out more about other services offered which may support them in a greater range of ways.
The horseracing industry is a close-knit community and upon retirement people can lose many of the friendships made throughout their career. The coffee mornings that Racing Welfare hold elsewhere in the country are appreciated by attendees who get to share tales and memories about working in racing over the years. On several occasions the coffee mornings have re-introduced people who haven’t seen each other in many years, even decades.
Simone Sear, Head of Welfare at Racing Welfare said:
We are excited to be bringing Racing Welfare coffee mornings to the Gloucestershire area where we know there is a large population of retired racing staff. The whole team look forwards to meeting people from the area and sharing racing stories over a cup of tea and a slice of cake.
Anyone interested in attending the coffee morning should contact Racing Welfare Welfare Officer, Adam Ferguson, on 01488 670034 or aferguson@racingwelfare.co.uk