British Red Cross the official charity partner of the world para athletics championships

The British Red Cross will celebrate all that is good about the emergency services and the London community in its role as the official charity partner of the World Para Athletics Championships London 2017.

The charity has been on the ground in response to the terrible events of recent weeks, offering support after the attacks in Westminster, London Bridge and Finsbury Park, and the Grenfell Tower disaster. The charity has been providing practical and emotional support to survivors, their families and the wider and raising money for the victims and their families.

They will now be at the World Para Athletics Championships, which kick off the Summer of World Athletics and the biggest sporting event in the world in 2017 at the London Stadium today, as the official charity partner.

All of the money raised from the Para Athletics partnership will be split between the UK Solidarity Fund, supporting victims of terror attacks anywhere in the UK (in the first instance those affected by the London Bridge and Finsbury Park attacks) and the London Fire Relief Fund, which helps people affected by the Grenfell Tower disaster.

To find out how to donate to either or both of these funds, please visit the British Red Cross website www.redcross.org.uk .

Niels de Vos, Championship Director, said: “We are very pleased to welcome the British Red Cross as the charity partner of the World Para Athletics Championships. They have proved to be invaluable to the London community over the past few months and we look forward to welcoming them to London Stadium to celebrate the emergency services and all associated with them.”

Mike Adamson, chief executive of the British Red Cross, said: “We are proud to be the official charity for the World Para Athletics Championships. It means a huge amount to us to have this recognition of our volunteers’ work over the past few months in the response to the awful attacks on Westminster, London Bridge, and Finsbury Park, as well as the Grenfell Tower disaster.

“We exist to help people in crisis, be that in the UK or abroad. In every one of these terrible circumstances, there have been the most inspirational acts of kindness, bravery and humanity. This event is a moment to consider all that is good about the emergency services and the capital’s community.”

The World Para Athletics Championships London 2017 kick off the Summer of World Athletics and the biggest sporting event in the world in 2017 with the IAAF World Championships following at the London Stadium from 4-13 August. For the first time ever both the World Para Athletics Championships and IAAF World Championships are being held in the same city in the same summer. The summer of World Athletics is the biggest event to be staged at the London Stadium since the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games with 30 sessions scheduled across 20 days.