Race for Friendship Round-Up
On 16th July, we held our Race for Friendship! Alongside many other charities and teams, Learn and Thrive entered a number of boats to the Kingston Rotary Club’s Dragon Boat Race. Some boats were led by our trustees, but we had so many that their friends and family had to lead them too!
Some of our trustees (left to right): Andrea Wilson, Andreas Lundberg, Nikki Walker, Kate Taylor, and our CEO Jo Aiyathurai. All are waving and smiling at the camera, wearing Learn and Thrive t-shirts.
The event supported the creation of the Caring Friendships series in Learning for Life. As this event supported young people with Down’s syndrome and focused on inclusion, we were lucky enough to be accompanied by Bethan, Freya, and Abi, all young people with Down’s syndrome. See them at the event below!
The team of the boat Sir Cinque Alot waving and smiling, with Bethan, Freya, and Abi front and centre of the image. Everyone is wearing Learn and Thrive t-shirts kindly provided by QCS, and some are already wearing bright life jackets in preparation for their boat race!
The teams had to take part in heats against a wide variety of other teams, of varying abilities. Accompanied by a drummer to keep time, the teams rowed their hearts out to reach the finish line, and many who took part said it was amazing fun and they would love to take part again next year!
As a result of the fundraising efforts by the trustees prior, during, and after the event, a whopping £14,400 was raised! This money makes an incredible difference to the progression and production of the Caring Friendships series and helps pave the way for further modules to be developed in the future.
A special thank you goes out to QCS for sponsoring the day, and helping in the promotion of the event. Many members of the QCS team came down to take part as well!
Additionally, a big thank you to Shaun Prime, who generously sponsored the Sir Cinque Alot boat, which Bethan, Freya, and Abi all were a part of. This was an unprecedented donation just before the event, so it gave all team members an extra boost!
Freya leading the crew of Sir Cinque Alot as their drummer while rowing across the water to get in place for the start of one of their heats.
Without the leadership and support of the trustees, this event would have been impossible. A huge amount of gratitude also goes out to all the friends, family, and colleagues who attended the event, took part, and contributed and helped fundraise! In the video below, a few of our trustees, including Andreas Lundberg, Andrea Wilson, and Kate Taylor share their thoughts on the day, what it means to them, and the importance of the fundraising and the Caring Friendships series.