Focus on charity
Discover more about the community engagement and charity work taking place at Jockey Club locations in the West region
W hile The Jockey Club maintains a nationwide partnership with the activities programmed to drive both funds, awareness and special experiences, each individual racecourse around the group contributes to the fundraising efforts of many local charities and community groups. In most cases this is simply through the provision of ticketing for race days, which is often auctioned off, or used as raffle or tombola prizes. During the curtailed 2019/20 season, around 500 causes were assisted in this way by JCRWest Region tracks, which resulted in a contribution of thousands of pounds to a variety of good causes, from village fetes to gala dinners. At Cheltenham, the appointment of Andre Klein to the new position of Community Engagement Manager has led to an increase in benevolent activity, providing Alzheimer’s Society and the Barrie Wells Trust, with large scale events and a direct contact for people who may consider the racecourse suitable for their fundraising event plans.
One recent example was a charitable group called The WigglyWormwho worked with Gloucestershire County Council to send 4,500 meal kits to families over the Easter holidays. Packing of the kits took place in The Centaur at Cheltenham Racecourse. The scheme was part of the Department of Education funded Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme 2021, set up to ensure that all children have access to nutritious food and activities during the school holidays, important for families who have been affected by increased costs and reduced incomes during the lockdown period. Choirs singing in the car park, 1,500 children playing cricket on the race track and charitable horse rides are among some of the other initiatives under way in the coming months that will see the racecourse utilised in ways that contributes positively to people’s wellbeing far beyond the provision of horse racing. The partnership between WellChild, one of the UK’s leading charities helping seriously ill children and their families, and Cheltenham began in February 2021 to
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