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RedR UK Champions: Meet Umar Shirin and Caoimhe Byrne

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You can be the next RedR UK Champion!
You can be the next RedR UK Champion!

Become the next RedR UK Champion!

The RedR UK Champions Network is essential to help our organisation reach more people and be able to train even more life-savers around the world. Our Champions are actively sharing and promoting our fundraising and volunteering opportunities within their networks, and helping us coordinate various fundraising events, presentations, workshops and challenge events.

In return, fulfilling the role of the Champion gives these individuals visibility and voice within their organisations, helps to develop a range of skills, teaches about the humanitarian sector and offers a chance to network and meet like-minded people from other organisations.

To inspire you to become our next Champion, we introduce you to two of our current supporters: Umar Shirin and Caoimhe Byrne.


Get in touch with our Fundraising team and become the next RedR UK Championfundraising@redr.org.uk

Read our interview with Umar Shirin, from Tony Gee and currently on secondment with Atkins

Why do you support RedR UK?

Having heard about RedR UK during my time at university, as well as seeing the work that they do across the world through my own research, I realised that I wanted to work alongside such a charity. Everyone knows that it is important to help in areas where it may be needed. However, to create a place which can from that moment become self sufficient is something, from my experience, that is generally missed by a lot of people and organisations working in the humanitarian sector. In my opinion, RedR UK have always been a group that have looked at the bigger picture when working to help different people that have been through negative experience, from providing training courses on the to all those interested in joining the sector, to using their vast contacts to create emergency appeals to all those in need.

What would you say to anyone considering joining our champions’ network?
To all those considering joining the champions network, I could not recommend the role highly enough. I have been a part of the champions network since 2019 and have enjoyed all the work I have done alongside RedR UK, on top of the role being incredibly rewarding. You could not ask for more rewarding work with a great network of champions across the country.

Read our interview with Caoimhe Byrne, from Arup:

Why do you support RedR UK?
I got involved with RedR UK through Arup and their strategic partnership. Hearing the experience of champions in the company inspired me to get involved with the fundraising for Go Red (formerly Wear Red) in particular sharing and supporting their work and focus on providing training and technical support for humanitarian crisis response.
The annual Go Red event at Arup was championed by Graduates predominately in the UK & I was excited to network with colleagues globally who were interested in fundraising for RedR UK.  Being a champion has allowed me to understand more about RedR UK which is knowledge I am keen to share and pass on. It is a great method of staying connected with RedR UK and their events. My aim as a champion has been to increase awareness of their work and deliver consistent communication on upcoming events within Arup and the RedR UK team are always willing to support.

What would you say to anyone considering joining our champions’ network?
My message to anyone considering joining the champions network is to get involved! There are many events to connect with RedR UK, their partners and get involved/participate with their events including my personal favourite 'Go Red'. Go Red is a great and annual opportunity to showcase RedR UK with the flexibility to pick fundraising activities which suit particular offices or regions.