A team from Southern Electric Power Distribution’s (SEPD) Portsmouth Depot is hoping that its energetic endeavours in this year’s Dragon Boat Race will raise some much needed cash for the local branch of the charity, FitzRoy.
The 12th Annual Dragon Boat Race is taking place on Sunday 15 May in Cosham’s Lakeside North Harbour and will feature teams from across the region racing to raise money for various good causes. SEPD’s team is taking to the waves to support national charity FitzRoy, which is dedicated to improving the lives of those with learning disabilities, and has a branch in nearby Petersfield.
SEPD’s team is made up of 20 employees who cover a wide range of the activities in our Portsmouth Depot, with cable jointers, overhead linesmen, managers and engineers all picking up their oars to raise money for FitzRoy.
SEPD Manager, Sean Colliver, explains how the team first got together:
“My wife, Tracy, works at the Petersfield branch of FitzRoy and she mentioned they were looking for volunteers to take part in the Dragon Boat Race and raise some much needed cash for local projects. I started to ask around in the depot and was taken aback by the number of people who said yes, and so it was no problem to get the required number to race the boat.
“Although it’s a fun event to raise money for a great cause, we’re all taking our preparation for the event very seriously, and there’s also a real sense of team camaraderie developing as we get into shape for the big day.”
Jim Apted, Community and Fundraising Co-Ordinator at FitzRoy is delighted that SEPD is lending its support, and explains how the cash raised will help in the local community:
“We are extremely grateful to the brave team from SEPD who are supporting FitzRoy at the Portsmouth Dragon Boat Festival this year. As funding and budgets decline, we rely on the goodwill and generosity of staff at organisations like SEPD to help us provide the services that transform lives for people with disabilities. All money raised at this event will go directly to our service in Fareham, Love4Life, that supports people with disabilities stay safe in their communities, enjoy friendships and find love. This service prevents the risk of abuse, loneliness and isolation that many of its members experienced first hand before joining.”
One of the SEPD team, Nathan Jeffery (pictured above, third right), has set up a Justgiving page ahead of the big day and so if you would like to help support SEPD’s Dragon Boat Race team, please go to www.justgiving.com/ssepd-powerboat1