Record number of racecourses support Racing Together Community Day
A record number of racecourses will come together on Thursday 9th May to participate in the 3rd annual Racing Together Community Day—British Racing’s national day of volunteering.
Racecourses will form a significant part of the industry’s output as all stakeholders come together to give back to their local communities working on a range of projects from maths tuition to gardening.
Ascot’s new community banner, Ascot Supports, sees the racecourse enter into numerous community engagement activities
More than 30 racecourses have pledged time and people power to volunteering efforts on or around 9th May. The Racing Together Community Day provides racecourses and all racing stakeholders with an opportunity and focus to engage with their local area and build lasting relationships with those that share the communities in which they operate.
Some racecourses have already got involved ahead of the big day: Ripon’s staff gave up their time to help with the Yorkshire ‘Big Clean Up’, picking up litter from roadsides around Harrogate, whilst Hereford Racecourse hosted their inaugural St Michael’s Hospice Charity Raceday and raised £47,000. North of the border, the Perth team donned their gardening gloves to help plant flowers around the city to support Perth in bloom.
Chester Racecourse will host a Racing to School day for local school pupils to enjoy a ‘maths in action’ day during the Boodles May Festival, and Ascot Racecourse will kickstart a food donation drive from 7th-11th May to contribute to nine selected local food banks.
Beverley’s coffee mornings help combat loneliness by welcoming people to a friendly, safe space
John Blake, Chief Executive of Racing Together, commented: “9th May is a day to celebrate racing’s growing commitment to do its bit, which is as rewarding for those involved as for those who benefit. We know that this will be the biggest, most far-reaching Community Day yet, and we want as many racing people to show how the sport values its neighbours.”
Jacqui Greet, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at Ascot Racecourse said: “Given the scale of the operations here at Ascot Racecourse and its location within a small community, we are constantly working to ensure we can support local charities, causes and initiatives. As part of our Ascot Racecourse Supports scheme, we have an employee volunteer programme and the Racing Together Community Day provides the perfect means by which to highlight and promote the work we do.”
Paul Swain, Brand & Experience Manager at the Racecourse Association, added: “The RCA is proud to support the third annual Racing Together Community Day and I’m thrilled that this national day of volunteering has now become a permanent fixture in the racecourses’ calendars. We’ve seen some wonderful examples of how racecourses have made a genuine difference to their localities and the teams themselves have always commented how much the enjoyed the experience.
“Our thanks to all who are participating and to the Racing Together team for providing the inspiration and drive to maintain this fantastic initiative.”
The Perth team don their gardening gloves to help plant ahead of Perth in bloom
Racing Together’s Community Day 2019 racecourse activities include:
Ascot—food donation drive to provide nine local food banks with support
Beverley—combatting loneliness with coffee mornings at the racecourse
Carlisle—resurfacing the pen and painting at the Racehorse Recuse Centre
Catterick—litter pick around neighbouring area
Chester—hosting Racing to School Maths in Action day during Boodles May Festival
Epsom Downs—local schools competition to design floral display for Investec Derby Festival
Hamilton Park—working on the South Lanarkshire Countryside Rangers conservation project
Hereford—hosting a raceday for St Michael’s Hospice
Musselburgh—working with Musselburgh Grammar School to host pupils and staff for workshops to support their employability needs
Newbury—hosting a community walk around the racecourse with a coffee morning
Perth—tending to local flowerbeds in preparation for ‘Perth in Bloom’
Salisbury—gardening at a local homeless charity
York—donation of grass car parks for local primary school sports, complimentary use of facilities for visitors of local hospice. Planned coffee mornings to welcome isolated or solitary people.
