Charity

Pembrokeshire couple to take on 3,200-mile Atlantic Dash rowing challenge

Published

3 months ago

January 14, 2026

A COUPLE from Pembrokeshire are preparing for the adventure of a lifetime – rowing 3,200 miles across the Atlantic Ocean.

Emma Gent, 53, and her partner Andrew Ravenscroft are currently in the Canary Islands ready for the start of the Atlantic Dash, an endurance race regarded as one of the toughest challenges in the world.

The pair, competing as Team SharkBait, are due to set off on Saturday, January 24, aiming to reach Antigua in the Caribbean in a journey expected to take around two months.

They will row alone in a seven-metre boat, named Donkey, with no support crew, no motor and no sails – just two sets of oars and the open Atlantic.

Team SharkBait has already raised £5,845 of its £6,500 target for four charities: Wales Air Ambulance, The MS Society, Megan Starr Foundation and The Robin Cancer Trust.

Emma, a sister in A&E at Withybush Hospital, said the challenge has been years in the making.

“I have been interested in rowing the Atlantic for three years now, and after a couple of team changes due to various reasons, I was thinking about doing it as a solo rower,” she said.

“Andrew has many challenges already under his belt and was looking for a new one, and when I asked him to join me, he jumped at the chance.

“I am delighted that Andrew has decided to join me. He is new to rowing but has not let that stop him in any way and has taken to it like a duck to water.”

Emma said she wanted to take on the challenge for a range of reasons – from the adventure to the charities – and to inspire her children.

“I have wanted to do this for a long time; the challenge, the charities, the adventure, the achievement and to prove to my children that nothing is impossible if you’re determined enough,” she said.

“To be able to share the highs and lows of this whole experience with Andrew has made the road ahead feel less daunting.”

Andrew, from Tenby, marked his 60th birthday this week in Lanzarote. He has previously completed an Ironman and other endurance challenges.

Emma, a mother of three, has been a Celtic longboat rower for more than twenty years and has rowed from Ireland to Wales twice – but said this will be her biggest test to date.

“We have spent time training for the last few months, along with sourcing and purchasing the considerable amount of equipment needed to keep us safe,” she said.

“Many hours have been spent on the computer learning about the specialist gear required.

“It’s been a long slog, but we are delighted to be in Lanzarote at the start line and excited to get going. We hope to complete it and enjoy a cocktail or two in Antigua, fingers crossed, a couple of months after our start date.”

Emma said the Wales Air Ambulance was chosen as one of the beneficiaries because of its importance to patients and families across Wales.

“My daughter had an accident several years ago and although the air ambulance didn’t end up assisting, they were on standby to support,” she said.

“Having worked in A&E for many years, I have seen how much the air ambulance can do, not just with accidents but also with transportation of patients to more appropriate hospitals.”

The Wales Air Ambulance is consultant-led, delivering hospital-standard care at the scene and, when required, transferring patients directly to the most appropriate hospital. It operates through a partnership with the NHS Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS), with NHS consultants and critical care practitioners working onboard the charity’s aircraft and rapid response vehicles.

Its advanced critical care capability includes administering anaesthesia, delivering blood transfusions and carrying out minor operations at the roadside or in remote locations.

Mike May, the charity’s Regional Fundraising Manager for South West Wales, said: “The challenge Team SharkBait has set themselves is incredible. Emma and Andrew are a brave and determined couple for taking on this remarkable challenge in aid of charities close to their hearts.

“We are extremely grateful to them both for supporting the Wales Air Ambulance. Emma knows firsthand how important the service is to the people of Wales when they need us most.

“The Charity relies on public donations to raise the £13 million required every year to keep our helicopters in the air and our rapid response vehicles on the road.

“Good luck with your challenge and stay safe.”

People can support the pair by donating via their fundraising page at:
www.gofundme.com/f/sharkbait26

Updates will also be shared on their Facebook page: SharkBait.

Charity

Charity campaign showcases powerful bereavement support for local families

Published

1 hour ago

April 20, 2026

Cerys Lafferty

HYWEL DDA Health Charities, the official charity of Hywel Dda University Health Board, is calling on local communities to help them provide comfort and support to families who have lost a child.

The charity is running a campaign this spring to highlight its Wish Fund which provides support to families during times of bereavement.

The Wish Fund supports Hywel Dda’s Paediatric Palliative Care team to provide personalised support to families of children and young people receiving palliative care, and helps them create treasured memories when their child sadly passes away. From hand moulds and fingerprint jewellery to memory boxes and specialist sibling support, the fund ensures bereaved families are not alone during the most devastating moments of their lives.

Frankie’s parents Phil and Veronica shared how the Wish Fund helped them during their darkest days:

“We had the absolute pleasure of looking after the most beautiful, awesome, wonderful, loving and brave little lad who was very poorly in the last years of his life.

“We met his Paediatric Palliative Care team two years before his passing and boy what an awesome team they are.

“We will never be able to thank the Wish Fund enough. Thanks to the Wish Fund, we had the most amazing mementos, a Christmas bauble, a necklace with Frankie’s fingerprint on it and a mould of his hand. Those simple objects are our most treasured possessions along with a lock of his beautiful hair.”

The Wish Fund relies on charitable donations, and every contribution can have a lasting impact:

£15 provides a teddy for a bereaved sibling
£30 funds a sibling support session
£50 creates a hand mould keepsake
£70 provides a Memory Box
£85 funds bespoke hand‑printed jewellery

These meaningful items offer comfort to parents, carers and siblings who are navigating unimaginable loss.

Rebecca McDonald, Clinical Nurse Specialist – Paediatric Palliative Care, said: “I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has donated and continues to donate to the Wish Fund.

“Thanks to your kindness and generosity, we have been able to provide meaningful memory-making items and bereavement materials. These resources make an immeasurable difference in helping us support our families through the most difficult time.

“Your compassion and support truly help us bring comfort, dignity, and lasting memories to the families we care for. Thank you for your support in helping us make a big difference to families we support across our health board.”

To find out more or to donate to the Wish Fund, please visit: https://hywelddahealthcharities.nhs.wales/campaigns/the-wish-fund/

Charity

Greenacres Rescue saved as public clears £24,000 crisis bill

Published

19 hours ago

April 19, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Supporters in Pembrokeshire and beyond rally to keep animal sanctuary open to urgent new cases

GREENACRES RESCUE has been pulled back from the brink after an overwhelming public response cleared a £24,000 vet bill that had left the Pembrokeshire animal sanctuary facing the prospect of shutting its doors to new intakes.

The Talbenny-based rescue had warned it was at breaking point after receiving a March veterinary bill of £24,113.92, saying it could be forced to stop taking in emergency cases unless the money was raised by the end of the month.

The stark appeal triggered an immediate wave of support, with donations pouring in from Pembrokeshire and beyond.

Within the first 24 hours, Greenacres said it had raised £12,759, taking the charity more than halfway to its target. By Wednesday, the full amount had been reached.

In a message thanking supporters, the Greenacres team said: “Because of you our doors stay open.

“We hit our target for the vet bill and we are absolutely overwhelmed with gratitude.

“The support we’ve received has been nothing short of incredible, and thanks to every single one of you, our doors can stay open to help as many animals as we physically can.”

The rescue had warned that failing to clear the bill would have devastating consequences, with new emergency calls potentially having to be turned away.

Mikey Lawlor said last week that March had been the toughest month the charity had faced, despite more than £43,000 already being raised and paid off earlier this year.

He said the number of animals needing urgent help had reached an all-time high, pushing the rescue to the brink.

While Greenacres stressed it would always honour commitments to animals already in its care, it warned that being forced to close to new intake could leave other animals without a lifeline.

In its thank-you message, the charity said the successful appeal meant it could continue helping “animals who feel forgotten” and those with nowhere else to turn.

The rescue also highlighted the case of Venus, a Doberman taken in last week after spending time in council pound kennels.

Greenacres said Venus had faced an uncertain and heartbreaking future after going unclaimed, and had arrived too frightened to show her true character. Staff said she has already begun to relax and reveal herself as a gentle dog.

“Dogs like Venus are the reason we exist,” the team said.

As well as direct donations, Greenacres is continuing to ask supporters to help through its Amazon wish list, which provides food and other essentials for the animals in its care.

The charity, which has been rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming neglected and unwanted animals since 2008, cares for dogs, cats, horses, reptiles and other small animals across Pembrokeshire.

Charity

Cancer Research UK shop in Tenby to close after more than three decades

Published

3 days ago

April 17, 2026

Rieve Nesbitt-Marr

A WELL-KNOWN charity shop in the heart of Tenby is set to close after serving the town for more than three decades.

Cancer Research UK has confirmed that its Tudor Square branch will shut as part of a nationwide restructuring of its retail operation, which will see hundreds of stores disappear over the next year.

The Tenby outlet, which first opened in 1992, has long occupied a prominent spot in the town centre and has become a familiar part of the local shopping scene.

The charity says around ninety of its shops will close by the end of May this year, with as many as a further one hundred due to shut by April 2027. The Tenby branch is not included in the first list of closures, so it is expected to remain open a little longer.

Cancer Research UK says it is reshaping its retail network to focus on fewer, stronger-performing high street stores, while increasing its investment in larger retail sites and stepping away from its online marketplace.

The organisation says the move is aimed at protecting future income for research, with the changes expected to free up millions of pounds over the next five years for work into cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

Julie Byard, the charity’s director of trading, paid tribute to those who have supported the Tenby shop over the years, including staff, volunteers and customers.

She said the decision had not been taken lightly and stressed that it was not a reflection on the efforts of local teams, but part of a wider response to increasing running costs and shifts in the way people shop.

Cancer Research UK says it believes many of its current shops would struggle to remain viable in the longer term without major changes.

The charity has said support will be offered to those affected by the closure.

For Tenby, the loss of the Tudor Square shop will mark the end of a long-established presence in one of the town’s best-known locations.

Pic caption: Shop closure: Cancer Research UK’s long-standing Tenby branch in Tudor Square is set to shut as part of a national retail restructure.