Investment services specialists Ravenscroft, which stepped in to sponsor this year’s event at the last minute, has pledged to support the Swimarathon through to it celebrating its 50th year in 2022. The organisations that will receive money from next year’s event are: Brighter Futures, Brightly, the Jersey Youth Trust, the Teenage Cancer Trust and YouMatter.
How much money is available for distribution will depend on the sponsorship generated by those taking part, but the Lions say they are confident that each charity will receive up to £10,000.
This year’s event raised more than £110,000. All the teams which took part in that event will be contacted from this week onwards inviting them to sign up again for 2020. There will be space for up to 480 teams to take part in next year’s event.
Jersey Lions’ president Lion Mark Godel said: ‘These days teenagers probably face more challenges than they have ever done. Therefore, we felt it very appropriate that we should support those charities who themselves enable teenagers to thrive in so many different ways. We are also delighted that with the support of our new sponsors Ravenscroft we will be even better placed to benefit a vitally important sector of the community.’
The 2020 Swimarathon is due to take place from 11 to 15 March at Les Quennevais pool.
Haydn Taylor, Ravenscroft’s managing director in Jersey, said: ‘Ravenscroft stepped in earlier this year as a last-minute sponsor of the 2019 Swimarathon and we were so impressed by the dedication of the Lions and the commitment of all the swimmers that we didn’t hesitate to extend our support. Ravenscroft will now sponsor the Lions Swimarathon, which is Jersey’s longest-running and most successful fundraising event, through its 50th year in 2022.
‘Plans for 2020 are well under way and given the large number of young people who take part each year, it’s fantastic that next year’s beneficiaries are dedicated to supporting them, particularly during difficult times. The future success of Jersey depends on today’s young people and these chosen charities, who are focused on physical and mental wellbeing, are doing extraordinary work. We hope as many Islanders as possible will get involved in the Lions Swimarathon, whether as a swimmer or a sponsor, so that we can make the 2020 event the most successful yet.’
Fore more information email administrator@lionsswimarathon.org.
