Race for Charity

Welcome to the Rat Race Urban Adventure challenge charity programme 2010. Over the years, many people have used the Rat Race as a superb opportunity to raise funds for their chosen cause. Here we list our charity partners; organisations that will help you help them, through participation in the Rat Race Urban Adventure challenge. There are extra incentives to raise funds too, as each charity offers up their own special Rat Race deal on entry – often saving you £££ on regular entry price and in return you are asked to raise a certain level of cash for the charity. If you fancy raising funds for one of these super charities while you take part in our unique Urban Adventure race, then read about what they do, find out about their deal and contact them direct via their details and links below to request more info and fund raising packs.

If you are a charity who wants to get involved with the Rat Race, drop us a line at charity@ratraceadventure.com. The 2010 Charity Pack is available upon request. In the mean time please see below for a list of our partners for 2010:

2010 Charities

 

Macmillan Cancer Support

Macmillan Cancer Support improves the lives of people affected by cancer. As treatments improve, more and more people are living with cancer in their daily lives. This means they need more than medical help.

We are a source of support:  providing practical, medical, emotional and financial support. We are a force for change: listening to people affected by cancer and working together for better cancer care.
 
We believe we can all help. We can raise money – through marathons, coffee mornings, street collections, sponsored events. We can give time – at cancer care centres, events, fundraising groups. We can share experiences – online, in the media, with each other.

One in three of us will get cancer. Two million of us are living with it. We are all affected by cancer. We can all help. We are Macmillan. For more info on taking part on behalf of Macmillan please contact Pam Williamson at the following e-mail address pwilliamson@macmillan.org.uk

Radio Lollipop

Radio Lollipop provides care, comfort, play and entertainment to poorly children.  The charity is run totally by volunteers, who each give up a few hours a week to make a child’s stay in hospital more fun and less frightening.  We arrive on the wards armed with toys, games, activities and laughter to brighten up the day and, from time to time, we also provide shoulders to cry on.   

We operate from purpose built, child friendly radio studios within the host hospitals, broadcasting music and games 24/7 to the children.  The children are encouraged to participate in the activities and frequently visit the studio to become DJ’s!

One in four children are admitted to a hospital before reaching the age 14.  Radio Lollipop gives young patients a voice and a choice during their stay. While they can´t say "no" to taking their medicine or receiving treatment, they can request their favourite songs, win prizes and hear their own voices on the radio. Those activities give youngsters a haven of normality in the hospital day which in other respects is strange, different and often scary. For further information please contact Lee Donnarumma on lee@radiolollipop.org

Children Today

Helping disabled children and young people live a life of greater freedom. Children Today provide grants for vital, life-changing equipment for children and young people with sickness and disability across the UK. Relying entirely on voluntary donations, Children Today provides grants to buy specialised equipment such as individually adapted electric wheelchairs, walking aids, trikes, special educational toys, adapted car seats and a wide range of communication aids.

There are 390,000 disabled people under the age of 16 in the UK with 100,000 of them having more than one disability. There is no statutory right for young people with disabilities to be provided with the equipment they need by the Government or the NHS. By joining our Rat Race Urban Adventure team you could make a real difference for some of these children so please call us today! www.childrentoday.org.uk Registered Charity No. 1037402

For more information please contact Emma Fawcett on 07912 308576 or e-mail emma@children-today.org.uk

RedR UK

Each year millions of people around the world feel the effects of natural disaster and conflict. RedR is an international charity that improves the effectiveness of disaster relief, helping save and rebuild the lives of people affected by disaster worldwide. We do this by delivering essential training and support to relief organisations and their staff, and by supplying skilled professionals to humanitarian programmes.  Our work helps to ensure that the right people with the right skills are responding to global emergencies, and enables both local and international relief workers to react to the needs of those affected by disaster, efficiently and safely.

Get involved by signing your team up for the Rat Race now. To find out more on how to register, please visit our website www.redr.org.uk/RatRace  or get in touch with Marta on 020 7840 6000 or on email at fundraising@redr.org.uk

NSPCC

Take us one step closer to answering every child’s cry for help.

The NSPCC is here to end cruelty to children in the UK by fighting for their rights, listening to them, helping them when they need us and making them safe.

The NSPCC in Scotland provides the ChildLine service. the UK’s free, confidential helpline for children and young people. Trained volunteers are on hand to provide advice and support, by phone and online, 24 hours a day. Whenever and wherever children need us, we’ll be there.

Last year over 27,000 children and young people spoke to a volunteer ChildLine counsellor in Scotland. However we know many more tried to call and did not get through. With your help, we will expand and improve the ChildLine service in Scotland, so that no cry goes unheard.

To find out more on how to register, please get in touch with Susie Barron susie.barron@NSPCC.org.uk

CALM

Suicide is the biggest killer of men aged 15-34 in the UK.

The campaign against living miserably exists to challenge the stigma preventing young men from getting help when they need it. 

We have carefully branded and developed our support services, our helpline and website, to appeal to young men. Trained advisors deliver practical advice and information to callers.  We use music, comedy and sport to reach our audience with the CALM message “Being silent isn’t being strong”. 

“I’d like to say thanks to your team as I had to call them tonight as a precaution to myself. I am glad you are here to help people like me trying to make life easier for themselves, without making it harder for others”

Check us out at www.thecalmzone.net. Watch our ads at www.youtube.com/thecalmzonenet  

With extra funds, we can take more calls to the helpline. To register for the Rat Race in aid of CALM, email   kimthornton@thecalmzone.net

Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI)

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is the charity that saves lives at sea. The RNLI’s volunteer lifeboat crews rescue an average of 21 people every day around the coasts and waterways of Britain and Ireland. From 235 lifeboat stations, they are well trained and equipped to put to sea in the most fearsome conditions when the call comes. RNLI lifeguards patrol more than 140 beaches in England and Wales. 

As well as rescuing people from the water, they are also on hand for first aid and safety advice, making sure everyone can make the most of their day at the beach. Are you passionate about the water? Do you want to be part of a lifesaving team? Whatever the reason for your interest in our work, we’d love to have you onboard. The RNLI is an independent charity and receives no government funding. We rely on public support.

FARM-Africa

While 80% of Africa’s people are small farmers and livestock-keepers, 33% of the African population suffer from malnutrition.

FARM-Africa is a small innovative charity that unlocks the potential of rural African farmers, helping them to produce more food for their families so that they can feed themselves now and in the future. In 2009 FARM-Africa touched the lives of 4 million people and helped to increase the income of the communities we worked with, so that they could invest in essentials like education and healthcare.

To be part of the FARM-Africa Rat Race team and to find out in what other ways you can help us to transform lives, please contact Susi at sst@farmafrica.org.uk . We look forward to changing the world with you!

Here are our charity partners from 2009: