It’s that time of year again when we’re training to take part in the Rotary Dragon Boat challenge at Pugney’s Country Park on 9th July.

We’ll be raising money for the "Business Beats Cancer Yorkshire Charity", competing for the “Stuart Wardell Memorial Trophy” in memory of our team captain's father who was integral in organising the event prior to passing away unexpectedly in 2015.

www.cancerresearchuk.org/business-beats-cancer-yorkshire

Team Captain, Amanda's story:

Those of you who knew my father, will know he was a pretty special guy who always did whatever he could to raise money for charity and help others, despite the personal difficulties he faced. He spent many years caring for my mother who was diagnosed with brain cancer when I was  just 11, did his best to stay strong when I was diagnosed with breast cancer in my early 30's, and bravely fought his own battle with bowel cancer. Tragically, he lost his life 7 years ago when a routine hernia operation left him with an infection so severe it caused multiple organ failure and a heart attack. Competing in this event whilst raising money for charity is a way we can help the memory of a very special man live on. 

Sadly, it’s not just my family who have had to deal with a cancer diagnosis - too many members of our team have been personally affected by the diseases, either their own diagnosis, those of their children, parents, and/or friends - We are all on a mission to raise as much money as possible for cancer research in Yorkshire.

Our chosen charity is “Business Beats Cancer Yorkshire”, a charity determined to help fight one of Yorkshire’s biggest killers by raising funds for life-saving cancer research carried out by Cancer Research UK.

The Business Beats Cancer Yorkshire board aims to increase awareness across the region’s business community of Cancer Research UK’s work and to encourage them to work together to support the charity through a range of fundraising activities.

Our team of enthusiastic rowers will do our best to bring home the trophy as we race across the lake in our boat named “Stuart’s Big Kiss” competing against another 30-40 teams. We hope you’ll come along and support us and if you can spare any money to sponsor us, it would be going to a very good cause.

Thank you in anticipation of your support. It means a lot.

Money raised will initially go to the event organiser (the Rotary Club) and then passed on to the Business Beats Cancer Yorkshire Charity.