Welcome to the Ascot Charitable Trust...
The Ascot Charitable Trust (ACT) was established following a hugely successful Charity Ball in 2001 in aid of ChildLine, which netted £55,000. It was attended by a host of celebrities, including its distinguished Chairman, Esther Rantzen.
The Trust was set up in 2002 to benefit both national and local charities, community groups and individuals with special needs, who live within the Ascot area. Our main fundraising event of the year is the Ascot Charity Ball, which has now become one of the most prestigious charitable functions in the Ascot social calendar. To date, the Trust has raised over £500,000, thanks to your generous and continued support.
The nominated charities for 2010 are ParalympicsGB, Alexander Devine Children's Cancer Trust and Children with Special Needs Foundation
ParalympicsGB is the charity that supports British athletes through the Paralympic Summer Games and Paralympic Winter Games. They are a small organisation with a large remit as they are the sole organisation responsible for selecting, preparing, entering, funding and managing Great Britain’s teams at each Games.
The British Paralympic team produced an inspired performance in Beijing, finishing second overall behind hosts China and winning an incredible 102 medals – 42 gold, 29 silver and 31 bronze. The team consisted of 206 athletes who had varying disabilities across the classifications of spinal cord injury, visual impairment, cerebral palsy, amputee and les autres eg. dwarfism.
Sophie Christiansen is one of these athletes. She has cerebral palsy and competed for the British Equestrian team at the last two summer Games, winning bronze in Athens and two golds in Beijing. Sophie described the difference ParalympicsGB made to her Beijing experience:
“Both Athens and Beijing have changed my life, and I went into this year's Games the best prepared I could have been. I am proud to say that I am a British Paralympian and compete for, in my opinion, the best country in the world for helping disabled athletes”.
With the next summer Games on home soil, ParalympicsGB have a once in a lifetime opportunity to change the way people with a disability are perceived and the opportunities they have to participate in sports at all levels. Therefore the next three years are crucial in ensuring ParalympicsGB have done everything possible to help and support the athletes, whose performances will be crucial in motivating others to get involved in sport and making the country proud.
By supporting this event and the Ascot Charitable Trust you will be helping British athletes achieve world class results in London 2012 and inspire the public to challenge their attitudes toward disability.
Registered Charity No. 802385
