Dragon Boat Race Raises £21,000 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital

Multidisciplinary engineering firm adi Group raised £21,000 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity through a fantastic dragon boat race on Saturday, 7th June.

After seeing the 2024 race unfortunately succumb to bad weather, this year’s event went as planned and was a roaring success for the Group’s Charity of the Year.

On the water, 11 teams of 11 – made up of adi Group staff, clients and friends of the company – competed in the dragon boat race, making a total of 121 people rowing for a great cause.

As well as the race, there were games and face painting to keep the crowds entertained at Stratford-upon-Avon Boat Club, with Digbeth Dining Club providing delicious food, too.

Birmingham Children’s Hospital representatives were in attendance, including mascot Bertie the Bear, with over £10,000 raised on the day and adi Group doubling that amount to bring the total to a brilliant £21,000.

Suzanne Burton, head of responsible business at adi, said: “We’re so pleased that, at the second attempt, we were able to organise such a fantastic, successful dragon boat race in support of Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

“It was amazing to see so many people involved, whether by competing, supporting or helping out, and the number of donations we received was incredible.

“There was so much enthusiasm from everyone and it was brilliant to bring everybody together for such a great cause.”

This was the latest in a long list of initiatives adi Group has been involved in to support Birmingham Children’s Hospital since selecting it as its Charity of the Year – something it has done for the last three years.

In May, the Group sponsored the hospital’s inaugural corporate sports day, which brought 19 local companies together to raise almost £50,000 for the charity, and in March the firm received a 100 Heroes Award for the third consecutive year as recognition of its contributions.

Alan Lusty, adi Group founder and chairman, said: “Our longstanding support of Birmingham Children’s Hospital means a lot to every member of our staff, and it was brilliant to see so many of our clients get involved with the dragon boat race, too.

“It is such an amazing cause that means a lot to so many people and we’re always looking for creative new ways to contribute.

“We’re so thrilled that the race was a success after last year’s disappointment – and can’t wait to do it all again in 2026!”

Find out more about adi Group’s responsible business commitment and outstanding work at adiltd.co.uk/csr.