How's Your Butterfly?
Charity swimathon launched by Association of Children's HospicesDespite thousands of people having already signed up for this year's inaugural Butterfly Swimathon, the Association of Children's Hospices (ACH) is urging more people to demonstrate their support for children's hospice services by donning their swimming costumes and heading to their local pools.
Parents and children of all ages and ability are expected to dive into their local swimming pools throughout September and take part in the swimathon which will raise money for children's hospices throughout the UK. The event is being organised by the Association of Children's Hospices - the national voice for children's hospices - and is sponsored by The Royal Bank of Scotland ("RBS").
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Alan Dickinson, chief executive of UK Corporate Banking at RBS, said: "The challenge to raise as much money as possible to support the work of children's hospices throughout the UK is constant. We want to encourage as many people as possible to 'get in the swim' and raise vitally-needed funds for children's hospices and through them, the children and families who rely on their support." While those taking part can swim as little or as far as they wish, organisers are hoping that people will decide to swim 39 metres, 39 widths, 39 lengths or even 39 miles to represent the 39 children's hospices in the UK.
Despite the event's name - which uses the theme of the butterfly to symbolise the beauty of life, no matter how short that life might be - swimming the butterfly is not obligatory. People taking part can participate in the event by swimming any stroke of their choosing - even doggy paddle.
Stephen Parry, who won his medal in the men's 200m butterfly at the Athens Olympics, said: "The great thing about the Butterfly Swimathon it is that it is open to absolutely everyone - from people who are learning to swim to those who may have Olympic aspirations. It is all about people getting involved and raising much-needed funds for the children's hospice movement. There is no feeling like being in the water, and this initiative offers people the opportunity to have a huge amount of fun while helping children and young people who are sadly expected to die before, or shortly after, they reach adulthood."
The Butterfly Swimathon will coincide with ACH's Children's Hospice Week (CHW), which runs from 16-23 September. Both are intended to raise funds and awareness of children's hospices and the services they provide to children who will not live to reach adulthood and their families.
ACH's chief executive Barbara Gelb said: "A children's hospice requires, on average, £2.5m to function on an annual basis and they get little - if any - money from the government. It is therefore vital that we look at ways of raising funds to ensure the high level of services provided by children's hospices is maintained. The Butterfly Swimathon is a terrific opportunity for people to turn up, dive in and have fun while doing something that will go a long way to making a significant difference to the thousands of life-limited children in the UK."
The swimathon is also being supported by high street supermarket Somerfield, which adopted ACH as its charity of the year for 2006. Staff at Somerfield - which will be supporting swimathon events nationwide - are raising money for ACH through its 'Butterfly Campaign', which aims to challenge common misconceptions about children's hospices. "The Butterfly Swimathon looks set to be lots of fun" said Pete Williams, Head of Press and PR at Somerfield. "Many staff have already been asking me for information on how they can get involved. We hope that people across the nation will keep the momentum of the campaign going by signing up for the swimathon."
For a Butterfly Swimathon promotional pack containing swimathon literature, fundraising ideas and information about events being organised by all participating children's hospices, visit Butterfly Swim or call 0845 634 2197. Swimathon packs can also be ordered by picking up a flyer in any Somerfield store.
Look at Childrens Hospice Week
Children's Hospices
Children's hospice services help children and their families with the challenges that having a life-limiting illness brings, helping them to make the most of life. They welcome the whole family for a break together or time to themselves in a home-from-home environment or in their own home. They offer a diverse range of services including specialist care, 24-hour telephone support, practical help, advice and information and bereavement support for the family. There are 39 operational children's hospices in the UK with a further four in development. Each service is a registered charity that relies on public support to fund their work.
Association of Children's Hospices
The Association of Children's Hospices (ACH) is the national voice for children's hospice services and the children and families they care for. It strives to ensure the estimated 20,000 life-limited children in the UK, and their families, have access to the unique range of services children's hospices provide. Its work includes public and professional awareness raising, fundraising on behalf of all children's hospices and service development through education, training, research and lobbying. ACH is a registered charity which relies on public support to fund its work.
The Royal Bank of Scotland
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group ("RBS Group") is one of the world's leading financial services companies. For the past four years RBS has consistently ranked in the top 10 global banks. RBS Group operates in Europe, the US and Asia Pacific serving more than 36 million customers world-wide and employing more than 140,000 people.
Somerfield
Somerfield and Kwik Save staff chose the Association of Children's Hospices as their charity of the year for 2005/2006 aiming to raise more than £1.5m for the 39 children's hospices in the UK. Since July 2005, over,50,000 employees at 1100 Somerfield stores have raised in excess of £2.3million.
September 2006 |
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