Businesses Row to Raise £265,000 for Two Birmingham Hospitals

Forty-nine teams from businesses across the West Midlands took to the canalside at Mailbox Birmingham last month, as part of Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital Charity’s Dragon Boat Race, which raised £265,000 for its patients.

The annual two-day event – which entered its third year in 2023 – has quickly become a highlight in the local business community’s calendar, with more teams than ever taking part, and more money raised than ever before.

The event was sponsored by contractor, Building Services Now (BSN), as well as construction consultancy firm, JRA Ltd. It saw the 49 teams battle it out through three heats of 200m races with each day culminating in major and minor finals to determine the day’s top four teams. The proud overall winner on the first day was a team from online retail performance business Redbrain, while taking the trophy on the second day was financial services company Goldman Sachs.

Many of the teams who took part chose to support Birmingham Children’s Hospital’s £1.5million iMRI Appeal, to bring an intraoperative MRI (iMRI) scanner to the hospital, to help transform brain tumour and epilepsy surgery. Thanks to the funds raised at the Dragon Boat Race, the charity is now almost halfway to reaching its target, with £700,000 raised in total and £800,000 left to go.

Mark Brider, CEO at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “We’re overwhelmed by the absolutely phenomenal £265,000 our brilliant corporate partners and supporters raised for us at our annual Dragon Boat Festival. The passion and enthusiasm from all the teams, both on and off the water, helped to make this year’s event better than ever.

“Every penny of this year’s outstanding total will make a big difference to our women, babies, children and families as we aim to make our hospitals the best they can be – providing world-class care and the very best treatments to the thousands of patients we treat every year across Birmingham, the West Midlands and beyond.”

If your business would like to take part in Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital Charity’s 2024 Dragon Boat Race, please get in touch at [email protected].

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