Gymshark backs Women's and Children's Hospital’s charity Dragon Boat Race
Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital Charity has partnered with Gymshark, which will sponsor the charity's sixth annual Dragon Boat Race on 17 and 18 September.
More than 60 businesses from across the West Midlands will take to the canal at the Mailbox in Birmingham for the event, which has raised over £1.1 million cumulatively since it began.
Gymshark helped launch the first Dragon Boat Race in 2021 and has taken part every year since, raising more than £650,000 for the charity to date.
Founder and CEO Ben Francis has also been a charity patron for five years.
This year's race will support Birmingham Women's Hospital Charity's £1.5m MRI Appeal, which aims to bring the hospital its first MRI scanner.
Around 1,300 women and babies at the hospital require an MRI scan each year but currently have to travel to the nearest available site.
Helen Miles, head of Partnerships and Major Donors at Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital Charity, said: “We're thrilled to have Gymshark come on board as sponsor of our Dragon Boat Race this year.
“Over the years, the company and its staff have shown a real commitment to making a difference to the treatment and care we offer women, babies, children and families across the city, region and country, led by Ben Francis who became our first charity patron in 2021.
“With help from Gymshark and community-minded businesses like them, we smashed our £1m cumulative fundraised target last year. We hope to raise even more this year, making life better for poorly women and babies by bringing a state-of-the-art MRI scanner to our Women's Hospital.”
Cat Bromley, who leads Charity Partnerships at Gymshark, said: “The Dragon Boat Race is always a brilliant day, and we're really proud to be sponsoring it this year. It feels like a real full-circle moment for us, having helped get the very first Dragon Boat Race off the ground five years ago and seeing how much the event has grown since.
“Birmingham is our home, so being able to rally the Gymshark team and other local businesses around a cause that will make such a tangible difference to women, babies and families in our community is really special.
“The MRI Appeal is an incredibly important cause, and we're excited to get behind it, get out on the water and hopefully help make this year's event the biggest one yet.”