Unique Burrow Seven Fundraising Campaign Celebrates First Of Many Milestones

£50,000 donation is given to the MND Association. It is expected to be the first of many large donations the Burrow Seven team will make.

In November of this year Rob Burrow and former teammate Barrie McDermott announced the launch of the Burrow Seven fundraising campaign. The unique initiative, unlike any other charity fundraising event in the UK, invited the public to become a member of the exclusive Burrow Seven Racing Club to raise money for the MND Association.

Members of the Burrow Seven Racing Club get to experience the drama and excitement of owning a very special thoroughbred racehorse, named Burrow Seven. The three-year-old grey gelding has a fantastic pedigree and a highly promising racing career ahead of him.

One month on from the launch of the campaign and Rob and Barrie are back in Leyburn, North Yorkshire, meeting Burrow Seven again and handing over a large cheque for 50,000 to the MND Association. It is expected that this will be the first of many large donations the Burrow Seven team will make as more people sign up to become members, and the horses lifetime winnings will go direct to the charity also.

Rob Burrow comments:
Im really delighted by the success of the Burrow Seven campaign. Its raised loads of awareness about MND and its great to be back at the stables one month on celebrating how much money the campaign has raised. Im really humbled by the whole experience, and by all of the many fundraising events that have been happening recently. Thank you to everyone thats supported Burrow Seven.

Phil Hawthorne is the founder of Racing4Business. He conceived the original idea for Burrow Seven:
Im really proud to be here today handing over 50,000 to the MND Association for Rob. The beauty of what weve achieved over this last month is that we have a captive community of members who are all eager to follow Burrow Sevens racing journey and learn more about MND along the way.

Barrie McDermott, ambassador for the campaign, comments:
Weve got members from New Zealand, Australia, China and the States and have attracted over 20 corporate partners. I see this as just the beginning of this brilliant fundraising adventure.

Rob was accompanied today by his wife Lindsey who met Burrow Seven for the first time. She says:
Ive heard so much about Burrow Seven thats its great to finally meet the horse today. He is a beauty, and has such a sweet nature. I cant wait for the kids to meet him too.

The 50,000 donation was handed to Jenn Dodd the Regional Fundraiser for MND Association in Yorkshire, Humberside and the North East.

Jenn says:
Burrow Seven is such a unique fundraising idea and the Motor Neurone Disease Association is so proud to be the beneficiary. Of course, we are all really excited to see how Burrow Seven fares when he starts racing.

The support the Association has received from the Rugby League and racing community since Rob Burrow shared his MND diagnosis this time last year has been incredible. Rob and his family have raised so much awareness for this brutal disease and inspired thousands of people to give generously or set up their own fundraising challenges.

It is only thanks to this kind of generosity that the MND Association can continue to invest in world-leading research which, we all hope, will lead to significant breakthroughs uncovering the causes and potential treatments for MND, giving hope to Rob and the 5,000 people in the UK currently living with this brutal disease.

Burrow Seven lives and trains at Jedd OKeeffes training yard in Leyburn, North Yorkshire. He is currently building up his fitness on the gallops and hopes to have his first competitive race in the New Year. Members of the Burrow Seven Racing Club get to follow Burrow Sevens journey via regular updates about the horses performance and upcoming fixtures. They will also receive updates about progress being made in the field of motor neurone disease research.

One eager member of the Burrow Seven Racing Club is Sarah Perry. Sarah is a fine art portrait artist who specialises in pencil drawn animal portraits. She heard about the Burrow Seven campaign on local TV and got in contact with the team with an offer of support. Sarah has sketched a beautiful portrait of Burrow Seven which has been framed. The portrait will be auctioned off to charity next year and a series of limited edition prints will be available for purchase too. Sarah met Burrow Seven, Rob, Lindsey and Barrie at the yard on Friday Dec 11.

Sarah says:
When I learned about the Burrow Seven Racing Club I immediately wanted to get involved. I became a member but also wanted to extend my support through a free portrait of the horse. I was sent a selection of photos of Burrow Seven, but today is the first time I have met him. I am really pleased that Ive captured his likeness. He is a beautiful horse. I have no doubt he will have great success on the jumps.

You can follow Burrow Seven on Twitter and Instagram
To become a member visit www.burrowseven.com