Horsham Lions Club's Swimarathon to support the Jigsaw Trust

The annual event will take place on Sunday March 17 at the Pavilions in the Park leisure centre in support of the Jigsaw Trust based in Dunsfold.

Richard Legge, head of fundraising at the Jigsaw Trust, said: “It is a huge privilege to be the beneficiary charity for this year’s Swimarathon.

“As a local charity dedicated to providing outstanding educational and developmental services to over 100 children and adults living with autism, we rely on the generosity and support of the local community to ensure our vital work continues.

“We are extremely grateful to the Horsham Lions for their ongoing support and for inviting us to be involved with such an established and popular event such as the Swimarathon.

“We would encourage anyone who is interested (or has friends who could be influenced) to take part and help support Jigsaw Trust and other valued local charities.”

As Jigsaw is continually expanding, the school is now in need of a new early years play area for the younger pupils to enjoy during their break times.

The funds raised from the 2019 Swimarathon will help Jigsaw to provide a fun and safe play area to help their pupils explore and develop their motor skills, imagination, balance and sensory stimulation through play. This is essential for all children to develop and understand their surroundings.

In addition, the staff and students at the school need new laptop computers and iPads as they are crucial to record behavioural information and regularly update individual progress for the students. The cost of this equipment is not covered by local authority grants.

Horsham Lions Club wish to help the play area development and the provision of new IT equipment by donating its share of monies raised from the event, including tax recovered under Gift Aid.

As the Swimarathon is run on a 50/50 basis, half of money a team raises by sponsorship will benefit a good cause of their choice - this can be their favourite charity, their club or maybe their school.

The majority of the other half will benefit Jigsaw Trust with a smaller percentage being reserved for other causes in the Horsham area which are regularly supported by Horsham Lions Club.

If you are interested in joining the schools, youth organisations, individuals and local businesses who have already entered teams, there are plenty of slots left to fill between the hours of 1pm and 6pm.

Taking part is very easy, there is no entry fee and all ages can take part from eight to 70 inclusive.

You will need a team of up to six swimmers plus an adult non-swimming team captain.

The first member of a team swims one length of the pool and then rests while the other members of the team take turns to swim a length of 25 metres.

The first swimmer then swims again, and so on, for 55 minutes.

The event can accommodate up to eight teams swimming each hour. The first teams start swimming at 1pm with other teams starting - on the hour - until 5pm when the last teams start their swim.

For an invitation pack which includes an entry form, visit visit [email protected] or contact Lion David Trowbridge at email [email protected]

The closing date for Horsham Lions to receive entry forms is Monday February 4.

This year’s event is sponsored by PTC Systems whose support will help cover the administration costs of the event.

Established in 1988, PTC is still a family run business that works hard to deliver outstanding service to a range of organisations that include schools, hospitals, trusts, banks, retailers and construction.

The pioneering structured cabling company delivers innovative solutions for IT infrastructure across the commercial, construction and public sectors.

Managing director Dave Cavanagh said: “PTC Systems are incredibly proud to be the official sponsor of the Horsham Lions 2019 Swimarathon.

“This is a wonderful community event that really makes a difference to amazing local charities such as Jigsaw Trust.

“We are passionate about Jigsaw Trust’s work with children and adults living with autism and would like to encourage everyone who can to get involved.”

The Horsham Lions Club is also looking for additional community-minded people to join them to help them continue to work for the local community and beyond.

For more information, contact Horsham Lions President, David Trowbridge, by emailing [email protected]