We wanted to bring you all an update for the 2023 GBSUP fundraising.
For the 2021 and 2022 race seasons, we put out support behind an awesome charity that does immense work saving lives at sea and many other safety-based awareness campaigns. This was the RNLI, a charity that relies entirely on donations of many kinds.
In 2022 nearly £4,000 was raised for the RNLI through raffle ticket sales and personal challenges, like our very own Lauren Newman-Warren's solo triathlon – battling with only herself, Lauren has pushed her boundaries for a few years now and put a good amount of money in the Charity pot for the RNLI.
This year sees a change, with two new charities being supported. We went through a process of deciding which charities to support, taken from a shortlist put forward by the SUP community. This took into consideration several factors. Ultimately, it came down to two equally amazing charities that are relevant to many people, and we felt that supporting them equally was the best way forward.
The two chosen charities are 'My Black Dog' and 'Above Water'.
'My Black Dog' is a game-changing charity offering peer-to-peer support for people struggling with their own mental health. All their volunteers have experienced their own battles and understand what you may be going through. CEO Niki Clarke had first-hand experience with depression before founding My Black Dog and is supported by Patron Eddy Temple-Morris, who must be the most positive DJ on Radio. You can check out more about My Black Dog here.
'Above Water' was set up by Brendon Prince primarily to teach teachers, children and parents about water safety and drowning prevention. Brendon has visits taking place or being planned with 1,000's schools. As paddleboarders, we all use the ocean and inland waters. Our children and we must have as much access to good information about water safety as possible. You can check out more about Above Water here.
We are looking for ways to support these great charities throughout the year, so why not set your challenge on or off the water and support the GBSUP-chosen charities in 2023?
If there is something that you would like to suggest, please email us at info@gbsup.co.uk