GroceryAid’s 34th Windermere Row, sponsored by Mars, has raised over £67k for the charity.
Held in glorious sunshine on 14th May, the event saw 24 teams take to Lake Windermere for a fantastic day of racing.
Rowers were faced with a brand new course to navigate and some blustery winds on the water. However, all the participants showed impressive teamwork and spirit to triumph over the 10.5 mile challenge and were cheered on by families and friends from the Miss Cumbria passenger vessel on the lake.
The morning row saw the Tesco boat, led by GroceryAid Trustee Ruston Smith, claim victory with a new course record and fastest time of 1 hour and 54 minutes. In the afternoon row, PepsiCo proved the quickest team as they powered home in a time of 2 hours and 8 minutes.
Throughout the evening entertainment a variety of awards were presented. The Mondelēz team was recognised for being the highest fundraisers for the third consecutive year. The winners of the best fancy dress competition were Weetabix whose unorthodox group of superheroes and extraordinarily brave Pink Power Ranger impressed the judges. Lastly, the ‘Best Endeavours’ award went to Sainsbury’s Birchfield Road Team 2 who showed terrific teamwork on the water.
There was a great atmosphere throughout the beach party themed evening with bingo and a raffle raising over £2,000 for GroceryAid. The charity extends its gratitude to the companies that donated prizes.
After thanking Mars UK, who were once again the major sponsors of the event and also entered two teams, a GroceryAid spokesperson said: “We would like to thank Keith Hogg, Non-Executive Director, Greenvale, for his personal support of the event plus all the companies who put so much effort into raising funds for GroceryAid and for making this event possible.”
For those who fancy pulling an oar, next year’s event will be held on Saturday 13th May 2017.
To find out more about how GroceryAid can help anyone who works or has worked in the retail industry, visit www.groceryaid.org.uk, email welfare@groceryaid.org.uk or call 01252 875925. The GroceryAid Helpline is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year on 08088 021122.
