Jersey Water has announced a joint initiative with the organisers of the Condor Ferries’ Dragon Boat Festival, in support of Jersey Hospice Care.
Jersey Water will be offering free water to the anticipated 4,000 participants and spectators, as well as the opportunity to purchase reusable drinking bottles (at £1.00 each), proceeds of which will all be donated to the Hospice. This year organisers are hoping to raise £65,000 – which would enable Jersey Hospice Care to run all of its services to islanders with cancer and motor neurone disease for ten days.
Jersey Water’s staff volunteers will be operating a water station, whereby participants and spectators can buy their bottle, get free water refills and donate to the charity at the same time.
In its 14th year the event, which is sponsored by Condor Ferries, supported by RBS International and hosted by the Port of Jersey, will provide Chinese-themed fun for spectators including musical entertainment, food and various art and craft activities for children.
Teams are made up of a crew of 17 people who sit in pairs inside the forty foot canoe-like vessel with an ornately carved and colourful dragon’s head and tail. Aided by a steerer and drummer, the crews then race in heats across the 250m course in front of the Albert Pier.
Commenting on the partnership for 2011, Managing Director and Engineer, Howard Snowden said:
“We are delighted to be able to support Jersey Hospice Care for 2011 through our partnership with the Dragon Boat Festival. We launched the initiative last year at Val de la Mare reservoir with the Grass Roots festival; and this year are pleased to be able to assist a local charity in this way, at an established and well-run event which we hope will be well supported.”
“As well as the provision of water and support for Jersey Hospice Care; the reusable water bottle initiative also underlines Jersey Water’s own environmental initiatives; as we are reminding people to re-use and re-cycle their water bottles and save on wastage of single use plastic water bottles.”
Lynsey Beahan Fundraising Manager from Jersey Hospice Care, added:
“We are really looking forward to this year’s event which we hope will be even bigger and better than last year. We’re really pleased to be working with Jersey Water and for their support to help us raise more funds, while thinking more consciously about the environment.”
“We also want to take this opportunity to remind people that we still have places available, particularly for community teams – so please get your family and friends together and sign up for a great day out with lots of fun!”
Anyone wanting to sign up can download a registration form and pay online via www.jerseyhospicecare.com or forms can be requested by calling 510349.
Notes to Editors
Jersey Hospice Care
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Jersey Hospice Care provides holistic care, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to islanders with cancer and motor neurone disease within patients’ homes and at Clarkson House in the Day Hospice and the In-Patient Unit. The charity’s Community Bereavement Service is also available to all islanders who have suffered a loss, regardless of the nature of bereavement.
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Jersey Hospice Care is an independent charity which makes no charge to patients. It receives no funding from the States of Jersey, Marie Curie Cancer or Macmillan Cancer Support, towards its operational costs and relies entirely on the generosity of the public to cover these.
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It costs just in excess of £6,000 a day and more than £2 million to run Jersey Hospice Care every year. All funds raised for the charity remain in the island.
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In 2010 a major redevelopment programme started to rebuild Clarkson House, which includes doubling the number of beds available to patients and a bigger Day Hospice with improved facilities. The complete programme is expected to cost around £12m.
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During recent years, Jersey Hospice Care has put aside funds specifically towards this project and coupled with the one-off States’ fiscal stimulus funding received in 2010, the charity is now about halfway towards financing the entire project and a public appeal will be launched in due course to raise the outstanding funding needed.
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There are currently around 200 deaths from cancer in Jersey each year, out of a total of circa 720 deaths per annum. By 2030 the overall death rate is set to increase by 30% from a recent low of 720 to 935 per annum and it is predicted that a quarter (234) of these will be due to cancer. By 2030 it’s expected that the number of people diagnosed with cancer will increase, due mainly to the ageing population, and one in four of these cases will be terminal.
Dragon Boat Racing
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A dragon boat is a human powered boat traditionally made of teak wood to various designs and sizes. It is one of a family of traditional long boats found throughout Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands. It is now used in the team paddling sport of dragon boat racing which originated in China more than 2,000 years ago.
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Once practically unknown outside the Chinese community, today you’ll find enthusiastic crowds cheering on racers participating in dragon boat festivals throughout the world from Rome to Seattle including Jersey.
For further information, please contact:
Howard Snowden
Managing Director & Engineer
T: 707301
Lynsey Beahan
Fundraising Manager, Jersey Hospice Care
T: 510349
E: [email protected]