Save it and raise it with Fisherman Rod and the Belfast City Marathon

Over the course of the year Fisherman Rod will be helping families save on their household bills and supporting them as they raise money for their chosen charities, alongside raising money for the official marathon charity sponsor, Air Ambulance NI through a number of #ChallengeRod tasks.


Rods first challenge was to take on the Air Ambulance crew at their base in Lisburn, arm wrestling their onboard paramedic and challenging their mascot, Helimed Ted, to a round of Tug of War – raising £2000 for the Air Ambulance team.Rods next challenge is to get 1000 high fives from marathon runners at the Expo event in the Titanic Exhibition Centre on 28th and 29th April, where he hopes to raise a further £1000.

Kerry Anderson from the charity, Air Ambulance NI said:

“We’re delighted to have the support of CompareNI.com. Each day the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) is tasked on two occasions, to critically ill and injured people. The daily fundraising need totals £5,500 but if everyone does a little bit to help, the service will be there for every one of us.”

The ongoing cost-of-living crisis has put a huge financial strain on most families in Northern Ireland, as a result, donating to charity has become significantly more difficult for many.CompareNI.com has teamed up with the Mash Direct Belfast City Marathon to help families save on their household bills and raise money for charity.

In a recent survey conducted by CompareNI.com, a massive 75% of people in Northern Ireland said that they raise money for charity. However, 40% of people admitted that they were finding it tougher to raise money this year compared with previous years and 49% said this was due to the cost-of-living crisis.

In the same survey, 26% of people said more support from local companies would help boost fundraising while 18.5% said more combined events where all charities can get involved would help.In a bid to support this, CompareNI.com announced they will continue to partner the Mash Direct Belfast City Marathon for a second year and aim to help families in Northern Ireland #SaveItAndRaiseIt with the help of their mascot, Fisherman Rod.

Commenting on the fundraising initiatives Ian Wilson, Managing Director of Northern Ireland’s largest price comparison website, CompareNI.com, said:

“Although three-quarters of people in Northern Ireland donate to charity, our survey shows that the cost-of-living crisis has drastically impacted this. The Mash Direct Belfast City Marathon is the ideal event to help people come together and raise money for all their various charities and we’re proud to continue our support.

The 41st Mash Direct Belfast City Marathon will take place on Sunday 30th April 2023 with the Expo and pack collection taking place on Friday 28th April and Saturday 29th April 2023.The Mash Direct Belfast City Marathon is sponsored by Athletics Northern Ireland, Daily Mirror, Belfast City Council, Better, Cool FM (Downtown Radio and Downtown Country), Translink, Belfast Live, Tayto, Charles Hurst, Deep RiverRock and CompareNI.com.This year’s official charity is Air Ambulance Northern Ireland.

CompareNI.com is Northern Ireland’s largest price comparison website, and has helped over 650,000 users find savings on everyday household bills and essentials such as home insurance NI, pet insurance and bicycle insurance.