CLIPPER 2017-18 RACE CREW FUNDRAISING STORY: David Smith

It was by chance that crew member David Smith from Norwich came across the race website when he was planning his retirement. Now David is preparing to race 14,677 nautical miles across the world’s oceans, as part of Team Gaëtan, in aid of Unicef.

Continuing our celebration of all things fundraising this week, where we recognise the fundraising efforts of our crew and encourage further donations, we caught up with David, who is one the race’s top crew fundraisers, and has already raised over £7,600!

He says: “I retired from a very good job recently and had a bucket list of things to do travel and although the Clipper Race was not on the list, it fitted how I view retirement - live life and experience as much as possible!”

Prior to signing up for the race, David visited Brazil where he spent three months in Rio living in a hostel and working in a favela.

“It was immensely rewarding,” says David. “I have subsequently been back again with my 19 year old daughter to show the harsh realities of living in a slum. I am currently financing a volunteer to work in the favela and Unicef dovetails well with what I would like to help achieve in Brazil which is to give children a better life.”

Brazil is one of the many countries Official Race Charity Unicef works in to keep children safe. Children with disabilities are one of the most excluded groups in Brazil and tend to participate far less in school activities than other students. Every child and young person has the right to play sport, but the lack of appropriate facilities and qualified staff in Brazil means universal access to sport and physical activity is severely restricted. Unicef projects in Brazil work in schools and with the government to teach them about sport and inclusion.

David has been creative with his fundraising to achieve his target of £10,000 by planning golf days, quiz nights and parties. He has also created a Clipper Race keyring and bag tag for his fellow crew to sport on their global adventure.

“My friend has a business and has helped me create the key ring and bag tag - orders can be made through the Clipper Race Crew Facebook group. It’s one part of my overall fundraising helping me to raise more than £500 but every little helps and they are a great memento of the race in aid of a great cause,” he adds.

You can visit David’s Unicef fundraising page here.

Or check out the Clipper Race JustGiving page here:

Want to show your support this Fundraising Week? From keyrings like David’s to karaoke parties, we are encouraging all crew and supporters to get involved in fundraising activity. If you want to raise awareness of your own fundraising efforts, please post it on social media, tagging @ClipperRace and @UNICEF_uk and we’ll do our best to share on the race website and social media across this week.

Find out more about Unicef here.