The RCVS Charitable Trust needs 20 Santas, one of which could be YOU

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Charitable Trust (the Trust) needs 20 volunteers willing to be Santa-suited and booted in The Do It For Charity Santa Run.

The run will take place at 10am on Sunday 9 December, Greenwich Park, London, and each runner will get a Santa suit as part of their registration pack. Last year over 2,000 Santas took part, and it is expected a similar number will run again this year.

“Runners can enter in teams of up to six people and can bring children and dogs so why not make it a practice challenge,” says Trust Director, Cherry Bushell. “It really is a case of the more Santas the merrier – you can walk or run and don’t need to be super-fit to take part.”

Runners wishing to support the Trust can register online via the RCVS Trust or call 0207 202 0721 for a registration pack. They will be asked to pay a registration fee of £20, which includes the Santa suit, and raise a minimum of £100.

All funds raised for the Trust from the Do It For Charity Santa Run will contribute to the work of the Trust supporting veterinary research and education.

RCVS Charitable Trust seeks volunteers to participate in website research

The RCVS Charitable Trust is asking vets attending the BSAVA Congress 2012 to help improve their website. Volunteers will be asked whether the RCVS Trust website is delivering a useful service to vets and what can be improved.

All volunteers will receive free three month Library membership or a free literature search. Food and drink will also be available at the focus groups.

To sign up or for more information please e-mail Cherry Bushell or call 0207 202 0714.

RCVS Trust makes two £20 000 grants to further research

The RCVS Trust has pledged £20 000 to Allison German and Kenton Morgan at the University of Liverpool to investigate the prevalence and types of rotavirus from Cats Protection adoption centres. Feline rotavirus is transmissable to humans and this research will go some way to understanding the disease.

The Trust has also pledged £20 000 to Chris Proudman and Alistair Darby also at the University of Liverpool, to sequence DNA taken from microbes in horse guts to better understand the role of equine gut bacteria.

Since 2005, the Trust has invested over £2.7 million in veterinary education and research, and projects to improve animal welfare in the UK and overseas.