Ray of Hope to be beamed from Newbury Racecourse tonight (Thursday)

Kennet Radio’s starts Thursday nights fundraising initiative

BEAMS of light will flash across the night sky tonight (Thursday) in a bid to bring the community together and raise funds for disadvantaged children.

The Ray of Hope spotlights, the idea of local radio station Kennet Radio, will be seen between 6pm and 8pm every Thursday across Newbury and Thatcham, starting this evening.

The aim of the spectacular lights, which are located at Newbury Racecourse, is to highlight the hope brought to the community by the new vaccination centre at the racecourse and to encourage people to donate to Greenham Trust’s Laptops for Lockdown Learning Appeal.

The fundraising initiative, hosted on The Good Exchange, hopes to raise £250,000 to ensure every disadvantaged child in the area has a laptop to help them learn during lockdown.

The appeal has already raised an incredible £160,000 in just over a week.

“Kennet Radio is very grateful to everyone including, Newbury Racecourse, Greenham Trust and Top Marque Events Ltd that have got behind this campaign and allowed the lights to be installed to raise hope and charitable donations for the local community,” said volunteer Graham Pocock.

“Please donate as generously as you can to Laptops for Lockdown Learning so that the Ray of Hope campaign can have a lasting positive impact on the lives of our young people.”

The community radio station will be broadcasting regular updates about the Ray of Hope each week and has urged people to enjoy watching them from the comfort of their own homes and not to travel to the racecourse to see them.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has shone a stark light on the gap in provision for families in lockdown, especially those with school-age children who do not have the devices they need to learn at home and we must make sure this gap doesn’t continue to grow,” said Greenham Trust chief executive Chris Boulton.

“We believe that the charitable sector and local communities have a role to play to ensure that disadvantaged children do not fall through the cracks when it comes to receiving education during these difficult times.”

Newbury Racecourse marcomms director Harriet Collins said: “This is an inspiring initiative by the Kennet Radio team and a very worthy cause in the Laptops for Lockdown Learning launched by Greenham Trust which the racecourse is fully supportive of.

“We hope many will see the beams of light on a Thursday night from the racecourse and not only feel compelled to donate, but feel more hopeful about the future.”

To find out more about the Ray of Hope and the Laptops for Lockdown Learning appeal visit The Good Exchange website – www.thegoodexchange.com/ rayofhope