Sailing seas for St Oswald's
21/04/2008
Local skipper, Malcome Collins, from Ryton, is preparing his yacht ‘Helix’ for its greatest adventure – to single handed sail the ‘Jester Azores Challenge’ in aid of St Oswald’s Children’s Service.
With the kind support of his main sponsors, Northumbrian Water Ltd and S.C.A, Malcome will set sail at the end of May from Blyth to Plymouth, then on from Plymouth to the Azores, Mid Atlantic, incorporating the ‘Jester Azores Challenge’.
Malcome said: “This is my first single handed ocean race made possible by my “Auntie Flora", my family, and is in memory of my Dad. My challenge is to satisfy a life long ambition and to raise money for a fantastic service provided for children and families who desperately deserve it. All proceeds from this trip are to go to St Oswald's Children's Service.”
The ‘Jester Azores Challenge’ is a trans-ocean yacht race for small sailing vessels and their Corinthian skippers. The journey will take Malcome around three months to complete and by the time he returns to Blyth Harbour, he will have sailed around 4,000 miles.
Viv Williamson, community fundraiser at St Oswald’s said: “We are very grateful to Malcome, his family and supporters, for their hard work and kindness in helping us raise awareness of our work, and money to help fund the services we provide.
“Our annual running costs exceed £6 million, of which, £4.5 million must be raised through voluntary giving. It’s through events like this, and people like Malcome, that we are able to achieve this.”
Malcome is proving to be an inspiration to our next generation. Local school pupils from Ryton Comprehensive have been inspired by his story and have also decided to fundraise for the local charity.
Malcome added: “So far around £3,000 has been raised which is great. I am hoping that more people will give generously as every penny counts, a little bit can make a big difference to St Oswald’s.”
Leanne Clough from Northumbrian Water, one of the main sponsors of the Helix Challenge, said: “Northumbrian Water is delighted to be on board in supporting this worthy fundraising challenge for St Oswald’s Children’s Service.
“Although we’re a water company, we’re also immersed in community life around the region, regularly exercising our involvement through sponsorship activities, charitable donations and ‘Just an Hour’, our employee volunteering programme.”
To find out more about St Oswald’s, please visit www.stoswaldsuk.org or call 0191 285 0063.
To sponsor Malcome, please contact 0191 413 3125 or visit www.justgiving.com/helixchallenge
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Press Contact: Steph Whitehead Tel: 0191 246 9055
Email: stephwhitehead@stoswaldsuk.org
Notes to editor:
About St Oswald’s Children’s Service:
St Oswald’s provides specialist short breaks to North East children with progressive life shortening conditions. We provide a 24-hour, 7-days a week service, supported by a team of skilled staff who can respond to meet the complex health, emotional and social needs of the children and their families. No charge is made for the service ensuring care is available to everyone who needs it.
About Northumbrian Water:
Northumbrian Water supplies 2.6 million customers in the North East with water and wastewater services. The company supports charitable, environmental and educational activities across the region, from Berwick down to North Yorkshire and across to the Pennines.