HARIBO MAKES A SPLASH FOR MARTIN HOUSE

Last weekend, 11 HARIBO colleagues spent a sunny day in Leeds’ Roundhay park at Martin House’s annual Dragon Boat Race.

​Dressed as our iconic Goldbear, our team competed honourably on the day in both, rowing and tug-of-war, and contributed to raise over £100,000! (And this number is still growing!) ​

Team HARIBO rowed alongside nearly 40 other teams with races taking place every 10 minutes. The overall winners were the Army Foundation College, although every team performed admirably. There were further prizes for the most money raised, the most items brought for donations and of course the best fancy-dress costume. There was a real mix of costumes and plenty to see including pirates, Smurfs, Super Mario characters, prisoners, and Vikings! It was certainly an action-packed day!

Meg Dessagne, Category Manager, said: “I was so excited to participate in my first ever Dragon Boat Race. It is an experience I will never forget. Our team were brimmed with enthusiasm and determination and once we'd fastened our life jackets, grabbed our paddles and aligned our tactics, we were ready to race! Our drummer Vicky kept good rhythm and kept us in sync across the lake. Overall, it was a great journey of self-discovery, trying something new and having a fantastic day out with my colleagues. The sense of comradery in our team was amazing!"

Also present on the day, our charity team set up a variety of activities which were designed to raise further funds for Martin House. Led by Julia Curry the team offered games to anyone who fancied a bit of childlike happiness. Our stand included a football 'shoot-out', a MAOAM wire-buzzer game and a 'guess how many sweets are in the jar game'. The games accompanied the family fun-fair atmosphere well and attracted large crowds.

Julia said: “The real highlight of the day was seeing how happy our games and product made each person who visited our gazebo. We really got to see our 'Share the Happy' initiative come to life whilst raising money for an amazing cause - it was a win-win."

And of course, no HARIBO sponsored event is complete without Goldbear making and appearance. He was joined by Max and the pair posed for photos, gathered donations, and even took part in the tug of war! Goldbear spent the day raising smiles, dancing, and making friends with the Martin Houses' bear!

Lizzie Philpott, Partnerships Manager at Martin House, said: “We are grateful to the HARIBO team. Not only are we extremely grateful to HARIBO for sponsoring the Dragon Boat Race, but your activities on the day were amazing and the mascots made such a great impact too!"

At HARIBO, we have been proud to support Martin House Children's Hospice for 15 years. The charity provides palliative care to children and young people who face life limiting illnesses in North, East and West Yorkshire. Their 24-hour specialist support ensures that parents and families are looked after during the challenges they face daily as well as beyond. Around 75% of the work they do focuses on creating happy moments and memories with children and their families.