Bridlington and East Riding organisation M.A.S.H. (Military Assistance Social Hub) took home the grand prize at this year’s Sky Bet Ebor Festival Community Sweepstake, securing a £20,000 donation to help their ongoing work.
As part of the joint initiative between York Racecourse and Sky Bet, the sweepstake rewards local good causes from across Yorkshire and acknowledges their hard work within the community.
In what was a closely fought race right until the final few yards, Ethical Diamond was ridden to victory by jockey William Buick, meaning that M.A.S.H. (Military Assistance Social Hub) also took top spot with the £20,000 donation.
Second and third place went to Aphasia Support and Beverley Community Lift, securing their charities a £5,000 and £2,000 donation respectively.
M.A.S.H. is a volunteer-led charity / originally created in Bridlington – supporting Armed Forces veterans, serving personnel and their families. The charity focuses on reducing isolation and improving wellbeing through safe social spaces and trust-building.
Speaking after the victory, Craig Leach, Chairman of M.A.S.H. (Military Assistance Social Hub), said: “We’re a charity that is 100 per cent run by volunteers and rely on grants and donations, but these are becoming increasingly more difficult to access. Winning this money is truly life-changing for the charity, it means we don’t need to worry about keeping the charity afloat or having to stop running any of the projects that we offer to our armed forces community. The time and effort that usually goes into applying for these grants can now be dedicated to doing the work that we love and making such a difference to our community. Even to be shortlisted was incredible, but to win just means so much. A huge thank you to Sky Bet and York Racecourse for running the community sweepstake and giving us this opportunity.”
James Brennan, Head of Marketing and Sponsorship at York Racecourse, added: “In what is always one of the racecourse’s highlights in the racing calendar, this year’s Sky Bet Ebor did not disappoint, as we saw Ethical Diamond ride to victory and secure M.A.S.H. the £20,000 grand prize. Being able to host and celebrate the work that our shortlisted charities, community groups and good causes do is always a pleasure, and we’re excited to see how they go on to use the money donated as part of the sweepstake.”
Michael Shinners, Head of Sports PR at Sky Betting & Gaming, concluded: “We’d like to congratulate M.A.S.H., Aphasia Support and Beverley Community Lift, for taking home the top spots as part of our community sweepstake. Just like the rest of the charities within our shortlist, the teams of people behind these charities and causes do incredible work to support those across the Yorkshire region, and we hope these donations can go some way in making this even a little easier to achieve. Over the years through this initiative, we’ve seen the difference that this money has made to some truly incredibly causes and that’s exactly why we continue to run the sweepstake.”
