At the start of this year the Belfast Solicitors' Association (BSA) set itself a goal to try and raise £29,000 to purchase a Giraffe Omnibed for the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. Committee members, law firms in Belfast, sponsors, students at IPLS, and friends of the BSA have throughout the year, and in so many different ways donated via this page to try and reach that fund-raising goal. No donation was ever too small.

And then over a weekend in September, BSA past chairman, John Burke from McElhatton Solicitors, and his friends, Ian Young (Ian Young Fitness), Robert Crowe (Copius Consulting) and Richard Greene QC undertook a massive challenge to race across Scotland from East coast to West coast in a gruelling two day cycle, run and kayak race in order to raise funds for the charity. To find out more about what the guys adventure in Scotland entailed visit www.ratracecoasttocoast.com.

Their efforts raised this entire fundraising initiative to a different level- and this page is a testimony to those efforts.

The BSA has been at the forefront of Belfast’s legal and civic life since 1943. Established to ensure the provision of ethical and efficient legal services to the community, and we are delighted to partner Helping Hand as our charity for 2015; to support the tremendous work undertaken by the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children for the people of Belfast and Northern Ireland.