ABP Southampton patrol crew row for charity

2 July 2010

Associated British Ports (ABP) has an excellent reputation for getting involved in fundraising for worthy causes – some of its more prestigious ventures include Pedal the Ports in 2008 for MND, and entry into the 24 Peaks Challenge for Seafarers UK in 2009 and 2010 – and employees at its Port of Southampton are no exception.

On Saturday, 3 July, Southampton Harbour Master’s Patrol Launch Crew will row through Southampton Docks from Eling Tide Mill to Woodmill – a distance of about eight miles – to raise money for ABP Southampton’s charity of the year 2010, Naomi House Children’s Hospice.

Marine Officers John Hyland and Gary Olden, VTSO Daria Vince, and coxswain Brian Butcher will take to the water in a four-man rowing boat generously on loan from Hamble Sea Scouts. Daria will act as Tiller and they will be supported by VTSO Mat Wright in Sentinel, acting as safety boat. Their adventure starts at 11 am and will take around three hours to complete.

The event was the brainchild of Gary Olden, who came up with the idea while on night shift: “After checking out the website for Naomi House and realising what a good cause it was, a few of us decided we wanted to do something on behalf of ABP. Rowing the docks seemed the obvious choice for a sponsored event as we are all water-based and look after the port and rivers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”

The team are confident that their day-to-day activities are enough training, as Brian says: “Working on the launch can be quite demanding, so I’m pretty sure I’ll be ok. John keeps himself fit by regularly cycling to work, and Gary has a couple of kids so is always running around after them!”

Lisa Hawkins, Corporate Fundraiser from Naomi House, said: “I would like to say a very big thank you to the Harbour Master’s Patrol Launch Crew for coming up with such a unique way of raising funds. It is fantastic that ABP are supporting Naomi House in so many ways as part of their charity of the year. Without the help of local companies such as ABP, Naomi House would not be able to offer our much needed services to children and young people with life-limiting conditions, and their families, who rely on our support.”

If you would like to sponsor the patrol crew, please visit their justgiving page: www.justgiving.com/sp-row

For Further information:
Contact: Lindsay Mulholland (Communications)
Telephone: 020 7406 7825
Email address:lmulholland@abports.co.uk
Website:www.abports.co.uk