Charity of the Year

The Anthony Nolan Trust is Betfair’s Charity of the Year 2010 with the two organisations aiming to earn the charity £150,000. Anthony Nolan won the Charity of the Year position after securing the majority in a staff vote and will benefit from a fund matching scheme for every pound staff members raise.

The official launch, which was celebrated at Betfair’s Hammersmith and Stevenage headquarters, saw ex-England rugby stars Will Greenwood and Richard Hill kick off the start of the year long partnership. Will commented, “I’ve long been a supporter of The Anthony Nolan Trust because without the work of this tremendous organisation thousands of people simply wouldn’t be here today. I’m very proud to be able to continue to support their work and I’d encourage everyone to do the same - you simply never know when you or a family member might really need them. I am sure the partnership between Betfair and Anthony Nolan will be a huge success.”

Betfair staff will have the opportunity to take part in Anthony Nolan fundraising events, such as abseils, dragon boat races and marathons, as well as specially set up challenges, including a skydive. The charity also aims to set up recruitment sessions to give staff the opportunity to join its bone marrow register.

Georgina Corbett, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager for Betfair, added, “All of us at Betfair are thrilled to announce the Anthony Nolan Trust as our Charity of the Year 2010. We have set ourselves an ambitious fundraising goal as well as targets to raise awareness, recruit potential donors to the register, and share skills to ensure that we can support this fantastic cause in as many ways as possible.”

There are 1,400 people in the UK and 16,000 worldwide in need of a bone marrow transplant, which is usually their last hope of survival in the fight against leukaemia and other blood related diseases.

For more information, log onto www.anthonynolan.org.uk