Thames Water Raft Race raises £60K for WaterAid

Vikings, pirates, mermaids and yellow ‘Minions’ have helped raise over £60K for WaterAid.

On Thursday July 21, over 450 people made their way to Reading rowing club on the River Thames for Thames Water’s annual Raft Race. The crowd cheered on 38 colourful rafts and their fancy-dressed sailors as they battled it out on the River Thames to win prizes and raise funds for the development charity WaterAid.

Paresh Kavia, Joint Chair of Thames Water Charity Partnerships Steering Committee and Raft Race Event Manager said "The atmosphere was amazing - music was playing and everyone was enjoying the great weather! Thirty-eight rafts took part - that's 228 people who were involved in building and paddling their way down the Thames!

"It was great to see Team Thames out in force supporting the event which helped raised vital funds for WaterAid. The money raised will go towards supporting people around the world who don't have access to clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene. 

"It'll make a huge difference, so on behalf of myself and the event organising team, we'd like to say a massive thank you to everyone who got involved!"

Thames Water’s supply chain partners also supported the race by entering rafts and sponsoring the event.

The raft race has been run every year for 23 years, with the exception of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, with Thames Water employees and its supply chain partners raising funds for WaterAid’s global projects. 

Thames Water has been involved in other fundraising activities for WaterAid including a four-year project which provided support for communities in Malawi by improving access to clean water, toilets and good hygiene. The company previously supported a four-year project in Bangladesh which helped over 50,000 people in the local community access safe toilets and clean drinking water.