Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service take to the water to raise money for Claire House

Dec 20 2012

Dan Stephens, Michelle Rasdale, Michael Buratti and Tony Langan. Photo: MF&RS

A TEAM including firefighters and staff from Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service have raised almost £500 after they took part in a dragon boat race to raise money for Claire House Children’s Hospice at Liverpool Water Sports Centre.

The event consisted of four races, with 12 teams taking part in total. The teams came from a wide variety of backgrounds, sports teams, shops, restaurants and Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service. Each boat could carry 20 people.

A cheque for £497.30 was handed over to Tony Langan from Claire House Children’s Hospice at the Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service headquarters.

Michelle Rasdale, an Information Analyst in Strategic Planning and one of the Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service team who took part in the dragon boat racing, said: “We are still collecting money on Just Giving but wanted to hand over what we have raised before the end of the year.”

Michelle also added “A massive thank you to everyone who has sponsored us so far and to the team for working so hard on the day. We did surprisingly well considering we only had 15 members in our boat.

"We came third in our heat and had a lot of fun whilst raising money for a really worthwhile cause. Don’t worry if you think you have missed your chance to sponsor us – we are still looking for donations and our Just Giving page so you still have time to dig deep.”

The address for donations is www.justgiving.com/TeamMerseyFire

Jayne Dixon, Senior Event Fundraiser at Claire House, said: “The day was brilliant once the racing was underway. All the teams supported each other well and we had plenty of banter.

"It all started out pretty low key for the first race and then teams started to get really competitive by the second and third race which created a great atmosphere for the final.

"Claire House relies heavily on the community for support with events and we would sincerely like to thank everyone for taking part, spectating or sponsoring the teams – we couldn’t do it without you. Roll on 2013.”

Claire House Children’s Hospice said they were still collecting in donations for the event but had already raised £4,842.