Business & Money | Sunday 19 April, 2015 7:49 pm |

40 Participating Corporate Teams Help Raise the Funds

After the success of the RAKBANK Ride, RAKBANK is pleased to announce that a total of AED 100,000 was raised for Red Crescent in Ras Al Khaimah with the help of 40 participating teams from different companies. The registration fees from the corporate teams, who cycled for 22.8 kilometres in their business attire on al Marjan Island in the Bank’s home emirate, contributed to the pool of donations.
The winning corporate teams had the liberty to decide on the worthy causes to support within Red Crescent, which ranged from medical assistance for hospital patients and financial aid for students, to funding programs for orphans and people with special needs. 50% of the proceeds were allocated by RAKBANK to the Ras Al Khaimah Autism Centre, whereby the remaining 50% was split amongst the winners.
In first place in the corporate ride was Wildlife Middle East, an information resource on the wildlife and environment of the Middle East and surrounding region. They chose to use their 25% prize money to fund rehabilitation programs for children with special needs.
Commenting on behalf of Wildlife ME, Dr. Anne-Lise Chaber said: “We had a great time at the Ride and we credit our win to team effort. Our team was made up of professional and amateur cyclists but together we managed to have the fastest time record!”
Gulf Business Machines, an IT solutions provider, came in second and allocated its 15% earnings to projects aimed at supporting orphans while the third place team, Banyan Tree Al Wadi, a hotel in Ras al Khaimah, gave away its 10% to building wells in places that do not have access to clean water.
With a wide range of worthwhile charitable concerns, Red Crescent supports many humanitarian needs and gives immediate assistance to those in need here in the UAE. RAKBANK visited the centre in the lead up to the RAKBANK Ride and spoke with a man in need, Mr. Ali Al Jaber, who has been receiving donations from Red Crescent Ras Al Khaimah for the past eight years to help him pay for his children’s school fees, rent, electricity, and many other basic necessities of him and his family.
The organisation works closely with private and public schools in the UAE as well as the University of Ras Al Khaimah to offer training and education sessions, so they can understand the organisation better, teaching young children the importance of giving back to one’s community and how they can get involved.
From his side Peter England, RAKBANK CEO, said: “We were pleased to have over 400 cyclists take part in both the individual and corporate rides in RAKBANK Ride’s first year and we would like to thank all the corporate teams for their contributions to worthy social causes.”