People from racing all across the country will be coming out in force tomorrow in support of Give and Gain Day 2016 – a national day of employee volunteering organised by Business in the Community (BITC). Now in its ninth year, thousands of people from hundreds of companies across Great Britain will be engaging with their local communities and helping others.

Racing’s contribution is being coordinated through Racing Together, the sport’s community engagement strategy.

Sean O’Connor, Community Engagement Manager for Racing Together, said:

“Give and Gain Day provides businesses across Great Britain with an opportunity to engage with their community and build lasting relationships with those that share the communities in which they operate.

“Racing Together uses the full power of racing to focus on the issues that matter most to our communities and help others. We are proud to be associated with these great initiatives. I am delighted with the positive response there has been up and down the country.”

“Give and Gain Day is a great example of how racing is connecting with the local communities it serves and giving something back”.

Improving education, equipping young people with employability skills and developing potential future talent for racing within schools and racing communities are priorities of Racing Together.

Here’s just a few examples of what’s going on.

• Trainers Richard Fahey and Scott Dixon, supported by Hayley Turner, a sporting ambassador with Active Communities Network, and the Northern Racing College will be hosting yard visits for young people from deprived and socially challenged backgrounds to learn about career pathways and what life is like within a working yard.
• Racing Welfare plans to help a local primary school with outdoor work and assisting a local parish with their regeneration tasks.
• The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) will be running careers workshops for a group of young people from an inner city school.
• Members of the BHA, Racecourse Association and the Racing Post will be taking part in a multi-sports event for local schools in the Southwark and Lambeth areas of London.

 

Several racecourses, including Beverley and Chelmsford City, will be lending their time to valuable causes as well as staff from the Racecourse Association.

Will Aitkenhead, Communications Officer at the RCA, said:

“Give and Gain Day provides the perfect opportunity for racecourses to highlight their commitment to the communities in which they operate. “As a key supporter of Racing Together we are delighted to be taking part in the day and hopefully we will see some real, long lasting benefits from the volunteer work taking place.”

In Newmarket, various organisations including Godolphin, Tesco, BHA and Racing Welfare are coming together to launch project GROW Together, an inspirational community project to develop a communal outdoor area that will be enjoyed by all walks of the local community. The project is being linked with the national Ecominds programme run by the MIND charity.

The BHA’s announcement this week to sign the Mental Health in Sport Charter demonstrates the commitment to supporting the well-being of racings participants. This project is an example of the number of ways that people can engage in activities/projects that impact positively not just on racing but within the local communities that we live and operate.

Support and advice:

For general advice or support with your initiatives please contact Sean O’Connor, Racing Together Community Engagement Manager. e-mail: [email protected]

Notes to Editors:

1. Give and Gain Day was officially launched on the Business in the Community (BITC) website on the 18 January 2016 and via social media twitter @BITC.

2. Racing Together promotes community work throughout British Racing, centred around four guiding pillars:
• Helping Others: Providing a ‘Centre of Excellence’ to support the aggregate of Racing Together
• Racing: Looking after the people and horses who are British Racing
• Education Outreach: Improving education and developing future champions
• Local Life: Bringing together communities.