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THE FIVE charities who are the beneficiaries of this year’s Swimarathon have said the money raised will be invaluable after a tough year for fundraising.
Brighter Futures, Brightly, Jersey Youth Trust, Teenage Cancer Trust Jersey Appeal and YouMatter were all chosen as the beneficiaries for the 2020 event but when it was cancelled the Jersey Lions as organisers and Ravenscroft as sponsor agreed they should automatically be the beneficiaries for 2021.
“We know from speaking to all five of the beneficiaries, and to the other charities we have supported over the last year, that the impact of coronavirus has been profound. The need for their services has increased yet their opportunities to raise funds through events has been severely hampered and they have also seen a drop off in donations,” says organising committee chairman Lion Steve Taylor.
Brighter Futures supports local families having difficulties and aims to break intergenerational cycle of disadvantage and support families to move from dependency to independence. The money the charity hopes to receive will support some of the 150 families helped each year.
Nursery school placements for children of care leavers or those looked after by extended family is how Brightly plans to use the funds they receive. The charity supports children and young people from birth to 25 years, who are looked after in Government of Jersey care or leaving care, as well as others suffering adversity and in need. For children, whose parents have experienced adverse childhoods and spent time living in care, nursery can be a vital part of their young lives as it encourages a child to develop social skills, gain confidence, and learn communication and listening skills. Attendance at nursery also allows the parents to maintain paid employment, attend medical appointments and parenting courses.
Jersey Youth Trust opened its Youth Enquiry Service in 2007 to provide free independent and confidential information, advice and counselling to 12 – 25 year-olds on a range of issues including benefits and housing and mental and emotional health. The money raised from the Swimarathon will be used to develop the counselling offer and provide resources for the drop-in service to be open five days a week.
With one in two people now likely to receive a cancer diagnosis in our lifetime, the Teenage Cancer Trust Jersey Appeal has been supporting young cancer patients in the island. The charity’s fundraising efforts helps at every stage, from diagnosis through treatment and after treatment. These efforts can also bring young people from Jersey together with other young people at weekend events where they can talk through anything that’s on their minds and money raised by swimmers will be used for future events. It will also be used to support the charity’s online learning hub, which is provided to schools in Jersey, and offers lesson plans, factsheets, research, activities packs, posters and other resources.
The final beneficiary, YouMatter, runs workshops with thousands of young people in Jersey every year to inspire them to make healthy and positive choices about their lives and relationships. The money they receive will be used towards the running costs of these workshops as well as towards the cost of producing video lessons to share with schools, focusing on their nine key areas of work including positive relationships and alcohol, drugs misuse and staying safe.
“It’s fantastic to learn from the beneficiaries on what the moneys raised will enable them to do. The theme this year is enabling teenagers to thrive and it is clear from all of these projects that young people in Jersey will benefit hugely from the efforts of all the swimmers,” says Lions Club president Lion Peter Tabb.
Nearly 3,000 swimmers are due to take part in the event and there is still space for anyone else wanting to take part. Teams already registered have been sent information on how the event will comply with current Covid-19 guidelines.
Lion Steve Taylor is looking forward to a busy five days. He says: “We particularly want to thank Ravenscroft for their continued support and to the team at Les Quennevais for all the help we have received in staging the event. We have a fantastic group of Lions and volunteers who will be there throughout the Swimarathon to count laps, register swimmers and collect sponsorship moneys. It’s a real community effort and all the hard work will be worth it when we know how much we have raised.”
Anyone wanting to get involved in the 2021 Jersey Swimarathon should email administrator@lionsswimarathon.org
