Charity

The crew has set themselves the target of raising £20 for every nautical mile rowed.

Yes that’s £50,000!

By doing this challenge the crew aim not just to fulfil their own ambitions but also to give something back to the community. As a police officer Mick has often encountered children suffering from physical and emotional distress. And as the child welfare officer for both his rowing and rugby clubs he has witnessed firsthand the positive influence sport can have on a child’s life. The crew have therefore decided to split their fundraising efforts with 60% going to the NSPCC to help those children most in need and 40% going to Oundle Rugby Club and Oundle Town Rowing Club to support the development of children’s sport.

The crew strongly believe that sports like rugby and rowing offer children the chance to develop essential life skills and learn to work as a team. In a risk averse society they feel that both sports offer children a chance to undertake activities where they can challenge themselves and at the same time find enjoyment and friendship.

By undertaking this row the crew hope to provide a positive example and show that with a little imagination and effort ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things.

The NSPCC is making a difference

The NSPCC’s purpose is to end cruelty to children. Our vision is of a society where all children are loved, valued and able to fulfil their potential.

We know that the statistics relating to child abuse and neglect available to us are just the tip of the iceberg:

• At least one child dies every week as a result of an adult’s cruelty
• 25% of all rapes are committed against children under the age of 16
• 97% of abuse is committed by someone known to the child
• Only a third of abused children ever tell someone

The statistics above are shocking, however it is a sad reality that for every child who turns to someone for help there are many others who keep their secret to themselves. The NSPCC is working harder than ever to ensure that all children have someone to turn to through our listening services.

The NSPCC Child Protection Helpline
Our NSPCC Child Protection Helplines provide free advice, counselling and information to adults who think that a child may be at risk.

ChildLine
In February 2006, ChildLine officially joined the NSPCC. ChildLine is the UK’s free, 24-hour helpline for children in distress or danger. Trained volunteer counsellors comfort, advise and protect children and young people who may feel they have nowhere else to turn. Every day around 4,000 children call ChildLine.

NSPCC Founder, Benjamin Waugh said: “We don’t just want to do something for children, we want to do absolutely the best we can.”

Thank you for helping us to achieve this for children.

Registered Charity Number: 216401

Oundle Town Rowing Club

The club was founded in 2001 and has been slowly expanding its membership. Originally it started out with some borrowed rowing machines and borrowed play boats. It then got a big boost from the Amateur Rowing Association with a Project Oarsome grant giving which funded 6 fine junior racing boats, a boat trailer and a safety launch. The club operated from a static caravan and the boats were in the middle of a field strapped to the trailer for 5 years. Then in 2006 the club attained a grant from Sport England and finally got a boathouse. The ethos of the club has always been to bring rowing (which has been described as an elitist sport however much we try to think its not) within the reach of anybody. With this in mind the club has started an outreach programme, aimed at getting rowing into the schools in areas where most would not even considered it as an option. Membership has expanded and the club now has over 50 children participating and racing. They have been so successful in attracting new members that they are now reaching the limits of their equipment and coaching time. They therefore need funds to purchase new equipment so that more youngsters can become involved in this fantastic sport.

The club has Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) status.

Oundle Rugby Club

Back in 1976 (when flares were an acceptable fashion item) a group of rugby enthusiasts met at the Ship to form Oundle Rugby Club. Many founder members are still involved in the club and were players in Oundle’s first cup match, losing to Kettering 137:0 – still a club record loss. And in those days tries were only worth 3 points!

The club has come a long way since then and the now runs three adult teams. However by far the largest section of the club is the mini and junior section. With over 300 children aged 6 -17 turning out to play on a Sunday morning this is by far the clubs greatest success.
This success also poses a problem in finding space for them all to train and play. The club has three pitches, however two of these are very close to the River Nene and suffer from flooding and water logging which makes them unusable on a regular basis. The club therefore needs to raise funds to improve pitches, equipment and drainage.

The club has Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) status.

Donate online now

Donate by clicking on the boat below:

This will take you straight to our Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) collection account. CAF will collect the money on our behalf and distribute it directly to our charitable causes. By using the CAF link if you are a UK taxpayer we will be able to claim the tax back as a charitable donation therefore increasing the amount our charities receive.