Date Of The Next Challenge: 28th April - 1st May 2014

The MJ QUINN UKFSC 2013 donated £1,500 to The Firefighters Charity, The RNLI, Save the Children and Mission for Sam.  In 2012 the event donated £2,000 to The Fire Fighters Charity and a further £1,000 to each of the following The Masonic Charity, Help for Heroes, Nova Scotia Retriever Health Research, Teenage Cancer Trust, Solent Dolphin, and  Naomi House Children's Hospice.  Whilst in 2011 the RNLI received a donation of £5,000 towards the rebuilding of their Cowes Lifeboat Station and The Fire Fighters Charity a donation of £3,000.  UKFSC 2010 donated The Fire Fighters Charity and Help the Heroes  £3,000 each. The charities COPS and the Fire Fighters Charity both received donations of £2,500 following the completion of UKFSC 2009; the Ellen MacArthur Trust and the Fire Fighters Charity were each donated £2,000 in 2008; 2007 saw the Children's Fire and Burns Trust and the Fire Fighters Charity benefit by £1,500 each; and in 2006 the charity selected by the UKFSC Committee to supplement the Fire Fighters Charity was Sailing 4 Cancer with each of them receiving £1,000.

In addition to the sums above regular competitors from West Yorkshire have used the event to raise £10,000 for Yorkshire Cancer Research and £1,800 for Kirkwood Hospice in Huddersfield.  In 2012 they are also supporting the Huddersfield Downs Syndrome Support Group.  We thank Darren Bagley and his teams for their support.  To give to these Yorkshire based charities please link to www.virginmoneygiving.com/DarrenBagley

The UK Firefighters Sailing Challenge has a proven history of providing vital support to charities each event year. We endeavour to increase our donation to our selected charities year on year.  We work hard to encourage sponsors to support our good causes and raise money from competitors through raffles, auctions and by inter-crew competitions.

One regular benefactor for the donations raised each year is naturally The Fire Fighters Charity (FFC).  The Fire Fighters Charity is the UK’s leading provider of services that enhance quality of life for serving and retired fire service personnel and their families. They’re available for all members of the fire service community during their times of need, assisting thousands of individuals every year by providing pioneering treatment and support services.

Other charities selected for consideration to benefit in 2012 are:   Teenage Cancer Trust, Solent Dolphin, Naomi House, The Masonic Charity, Help For Heroes

Details about all of the charities supported, past and present, is listed below:

Charitable Support 2011

For 2011 the charity Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) was been chosen to benefit from UKFSC support and we look forward to making a substantial donation on the completion of the UKFSC 2011.  The RNLI was chosen in recognition of the tremendous work and sacrifice made by their crews in ensuring the safety of sailors within the waters of the United Kingdom.  As emergency workers ourselves we appreciate the sacrifice made by crews and their families in supporting us.  In particular the RNLI were fundraising themselves to replace their Lifeboat Station in Cowes I.O.W.

Cowes is the sailing 'home' of the UK Firefighters Sailing Challenge and we were very keen to support this RNLI Project.  To this end £5,000 was donated from the M.J. QUINN UKFSC 2011 event.

Charitable Support - 2010

Just weeks prior to the start of UKFSC 2010, two firefighters from Hampshire were killed whist attending an incident in Southampton.  Indeed some of the participating crews missed the first days racing in order to attend one of the funerals.  It was decided that a collection should be taken from the competitors towards the Memorial fund for Firefighters Alan Bannon and James Shears.  We are pleased to record that this collection raised £548.12.

The Fire Fighters Charity is a modern, dynamic, award-winning charity which provides assistance to serving and retired personnel, their widowers and young dependants through the provision of sheltered accommodation, recuperative facilities, rehabilitation and therapy, in addition to financial support for those who need it.  The charity has three UK centres, which provide these range of support services, in addition to an HQ facility in Basingstoke, Hampshire.

Help for Heroes (H4H) was founded by Bryn and Emma Parry after a profoundly moving visit to Selly Oak Hospital in the summer of 2007. Bryn and Emma met some extraordinarily brave young people who had been badly wounded and they just wanted to do something to help. The charity was launched in October 2007 and, with the backing and support of Celebrities, including Jeremy and Francie Clarkson, The Royal Family, The Media and countless ordinary decent people, it has raised over £1m a month since then.

Help for Heroes is strictly non-political. We have no affiliation with any political party and we do not endorse the use of our name for the promotion of any political viewpoint. The money that we raise at Help for Heroes is used to support wounded Servicemen and women of every colour and creed and we strongly oppose any individual or political party who believes otherwise, and those who seek to use the charity’s name for their own political gain.

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Charitable Support - 2009

For 2009 the Kilmarnock based charity Care Of Police Survivors (COPS) was chosen to benefit from UKFSC support and we were able to make a £2,500 donation on the completion of the UKFSC 2009. COPS was chosen, in part, in recognition of the tremendous support given to UKFSC by contestants from the UK's police forces over the last four years.

Nobody understands the trauma of an in the line of duty death, better than those who have endured it. Care Of Police Survivors (COPS) places new survivors in touch with those who are prepared to help others through the difficult times that lie ahead.

COPS is run by survivors for survivors. Membership is open to spouses, partners, children, parents and siblings of officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

THERE IS NO MEMBERSHIP FEE. THE PRICE PAID IS ALREADY TOO HIGH.

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Charitable Support - 2008

The Children’s Fire and Burn Trust is is committed to providing support for burn and scald injured children and their families. In parallel, they run education and public awareness programmes designed to prevent these injuries. They are the only UK charity working both nationally and internationally who are devoted solely to these areas.  The UKFSC were able to make a £1,500 donation following the 2007 UKFSC event.