The Railway Industry Association (RIA) has confirmed it is supporting Railway Children’s ‘Rail Aid 2021’ as its charity of the year.

‘Rail Aid’ was launched last year by Railway Children, in direct response to the unprecedented challenges faced by young people as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. And with a host of events taking place in the second half of 2021, the benefits ‘Rail Aid’ will experience as RIA’s charity of the year are innumerable and will ensure greater and broader support within the rail industry.

‘Rail Aid’ is honoured to have been selected by RIA. In previous years, RIA and team members have raised money for Railway Children through participation in various initiatives, such as half marathon and Birmingham New Street sleepout events, and through its varied calendar of conferences and events. Money raised from these efforts was critical in providing care and assistance to young people.

Whilst Railway Children has always been well supported by the rail industry, the pandemic has had a devastating impact on efforts to raise critical funds to support the lives of children around the world. In 2020, ‘Rail Aid’ aimed to tackle this, managing to raise over £537,000 – money which couldn’t have been raised without the UK railway industry. Moreover, over 120 businesses took part, ranging from Tier 1s to SMEs, and around 1,200 individuals gave their support. However, in 2021 ‘Rail Aid’ aims to be bigger and better and needs industry support.

Rob Capener, Railway Children’s Director of Fundraising & Marketing, said:

“’Rail Aid’ was honoured and grateful to have been selected as RIA’s chosen charity for 2021 and its support will make a considerable difference to our fundraising efforts. We now hope to engage even more within the industry to participate and support us, with a great range of challenges and activities to get involved with over the coming months.”

Darren Caplan, Chief Executive of the Railway Industry Association (RIA), said:

“We’re delighted to confirm support for Railway Children’s ‘Rail Aid 2021’, our charity for the year. We are supporting ‘Rail Aid’ by providing fundraising opportunities at RIA events, helping raise awareness of the cause and generally doing all we can to boost its valuable work.

“’Rail Aid 2021’ is a fantastic initiative, which provides lifelines to children from around the world at such a critical time during this global pandemic. We look forward to working with Railway Children to promote this worthy cause.”

To find out more about Rail Aid’s work, how you can sign up for upcoming events or become a sponsor, check out: https://railaid.co.uk.