Clipper Round the World 09-10

The official Clipper Race charity is the Philip Green Memorial Trust

The official charity of the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race is the Philip Green Memorial Trust.

Clipper Ventures Plc has supported PGMT since The Times Clipper 2000 Race and during that time crew members have raised more than £250,000 for the good causes supported by the Trust. That figure includes more than £50,000 raised by just 19 of the crew competing in Clipper 07-08 - a fantastic total.

William Ward, Chief Executive of Clipper Ventures Plc, has been a committee member of the Trust for many years and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston is a patron, alongside such sporting luminaries as the boxer, Lennox Lewis, and champion jockey, Frankie Dettori.

The Philip Green Memorial Trust is a small charity with a big heart, helping sick and disabled children throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. It supports welfare, medical and educational projects, as well as helping individual children to lead a normal life. Since its inception it has distributed in excess of £4 million to more than 200 organisations and individuals. The Trust responds not only to the needs of large projects but to the daily frustrations of individuals and smaller organisations for whom a little money can make a dream come true. It has no independent source of funds and relies fully on charitable donations.

PGMT's current project will be helping to build a fully integrated nursery school in north west London where disabled and able-bodied children can learn together. The organisation, Norwood, already has plans to convert an area within their existing building in Hendon to create an appropriate setting for disabled children. The work will cost approximately £250,000 and PGMT hopes to make a substantial donation towards that.

Clipper 07-08 crews' generosity supported a major refurbishment project at The Royal School for the Deaf and Communications Disorders in Manchester. The project included the installation of multi-use ceiling hoists in each classroom to allow the staff to work with the children, many of whom have severe mobility issues, anywhere in the classroom. The Trust also helped provide the means to install the latest shower and toilet facilities to give the children greater independence and dignity.

In addition to the UK projects, the Trust focuses its efforts on children throughout the world. In Nepal, PGMT teamed up with Handicap International, one of the only aid agencies working in the country, to build a rehabilitation centre. Nepal is the fourth poorest country in the world and ten percent of its population is disabled, many of them children. The newly built centre will not only offer medical help but also educate the people of the region in avoiding accidents.

How can you get involved?

We very much hope that you will adopt PGMT as your charity too. Every penny you raise will help another child. And while you experience the adventure of a lifetime you will know that a child who may never get such an opportunity will benefit, too.

In recognition of the support you will be giving, the Clipper Race and PGMT offers a unique sponsorship package. For any amount you raise for the charity, you will get a third back. Have a look at the table to see how that can add up. The more you raise, the more children benefit and the more you get back - which could allow you to add another leg to your adventure.