One year on from the cancellation of All-Weather Championships Finals Day on Good Friday 2020, SASH Charity, the charity that supports Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, have offered their thanks for the significant support offered by the Season 7 All-Weather Champions.
With the cancellation of all racing at the start of the first national lockdown, All-Weather Championships Finals Day did not take place as scheduled in 2020. Without the traditional end of the season meeting, the All-Weather Champions from Season 7 donated over £25,000 from their prize funds to help support all those working across the Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust.
Champion Owner, Godolphin, donated their prize, along with Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum who donated his prize for Horse of the Year. Champion Jockey Ben Curtis and runner up Luke Morris both contributed to the donation, along with Champion Trainer Mick Appleby, owners of the Winning Most Horse (Agent of Fortune) as well as Champion Apprentice Jockey George Rooke, and runner up Grace McEntee.
Andrew Bickerdike, fundraising manager at SASH said, “We were hugely grateful to be approached by the team at the All-Weather Championships with an incredibly kind offer from the racing community.”
“We are a year on from that time, and the money donated has made a tremendous difference to the staff and patients across Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust during what has been an incredibly testing twelve months.”
“Every department across our Trust has been able to benefit from public donations over the last year, including from the All-Weather Champions, and has seen us been able to support our staff and patients across a number of areas. These have ranged from the purchase of a number of tablet computers that patients in hospital during COVID-19 can use to video call loved ones who can not visit them in person all the way down to upgrading of break facilities for staff with new sofas and coffee machines, and offering them small health and wellbeing packs.”
“Equally, we have been able to fund an important study on the psychological impact of the pandemic on our staff, and psychologist sessions with groups and individuals, to support them and their mental health. This has helped to shape the support which will be provided in future by the NHS itself to staff here at SASH, and will hopefully be of huge help for clinical and support staff.”
“Once again, I would like to pass on the sincere thanks of myself and everyone at SASH to the All-Weather Champions who were so generous last year, and to the racing community as a whole.”
Season 8 of the All-Weather Championships culminates with Finals Day at Lingfield Park on Good Friday, 2 April 2021.
To learn more, or donate now to help patients and hospital staff visit www.sashcharity.org
