IT channel shows kidney disease the red card

Three events organised by Exclusive Networks are on course to raise over £15,000

The IT channel has come together to raise £14,600 to help tackle kidney disease following an industry-wide football tournament at Selhurst Park.

The tournament saw 17 teams (full list of participants below) battle it out at the home of Crystal Palace, with Imaga Techmedia named champions after a penalty shootout win over Zones.

The event was the second in a series of fundraisers organised by Exclusive Networks to raise money for Kidney Research UK and Sheffield Hospitals Charity.

Sam Blackburn (pictured, right), a member of the Exclusive Networks sales team, is currently on dialysis and on the waiting list for a kidney transplant.

Blackburn said: "I really wanted to put on an event that combined my love of football with the opportunity to raise some money and awareness, so this has been great. I owe a lot of thanks to my employers, Exclusive Networks, who have helped me to organise everything."

Blackburn was born with chronic renal failure, which led to the removal of his right kidney and part of his left.

He was on dialysis until April 2007 when he underwent a successful kidney transplant but the kidney was found to be failing last October. Blackburn was forced to start dialysis again at the beginning of this year and is awaiting a second transplant.

The proceeds from the events will go towards the development of cures for kidney disease at Kidney Research UK, and towards the funding of televisions for patients in the Sheffield Kidney Unit.

Hannah Wysocki from Kidney Research UK's fundraising team said: "Sam and the Exclusive Networks team have made an incredible effort to organise the tournament. Everyone involved had a fantastic day and contributed to raising a significant amount of money for both charities.

"We simply couldn't carry on funding life-changing research into kidney disease without the amazing input of Sam and all our supporters like him, who fundraise for Kidney Research UK. Our huge thanks to everyone that took part in this event."

In two other fundraisers, Sam Cotton, Amy Nairne-Clark, Whitney Early, Tracey Cooling, Sarah Shepard-Smith, Sarah Chapman of Exclusive Networks took part in Pretty Muddy event, raising over £1,000.

Later this month, Exclusive's Matt Paynter, Nick Crouch, Matt Rhodes and Rory Jones of will take on four rounds of golf, equalling 72 holes, back to back at Bramley Golf Course in Surrey.

The golfers are expecting to walk about 20 miles and are aiming to complete the challenge in under 17 hours.

You can donate to the cause by clicking here.

The 17 teams in the football tournament comprised representatives from:

Aerohive
AVR International
Bytes
Carbon Black
Exclusive Networks
Fortinet
Gemalto
Imago tech media
Itec
Ixia
LogRhythm
Nebulas
NTT
Palo Alto Networks
Proofpoint
Secure Data
Zones