Charity: Accountants complete 400km cycle challenge; Eddisons’ five take on triathlon for Yorkshire Air Ambulance; and more
A TEAM from the Leeds office of accountancy firm Mazars completed a 400km cycle challenge from Leeds to Edinburgh and raised £6,376 for The National Autistic Society, with the amount still rising as donations continue to come in.
Team members included Ashley Barraclough, Sophie Earnshaw, Alex Baskeyfield, Chris Calverley, Jon Hayward, Andrew Harrop, Richard Walker, Luke Johnson, Lisa Quickfall, Bethan Hughes and Emma Thornhill. The team started in Leeds and finished on Edinburgh’s famous Royal Mile.
Mark Lever, chief executive of The National Autistic Society, said: “It’s incredible to see the whole team of novice cyclists from Mazars group supporting each other to complete this ambitious cycling challenge, and we’re so grateful for their amazing donation of £6,376.
“We rely on the support of the public so we can continue to support autistic people and their families, and any donation we receive goes toward making a better world for those on the autism spectrum.”
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A FIVE-strong team from property consultant Eddisons competed in the Brownlee Triathlon at Harewood House to raise £850 for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
Ian Harrington, Joseph Fitzsimmons, Jack Cooper, Chris Nettleton and Glenn Levison all took part in the Super Sprint event which saw the team swim 400m and cycle 13km before a final 3km run.
Ian Harrington, head of building and project consultancy at Eddisons, said: “We’d all been in training to prepare for this although I think it’s fair to say that some of us were in slightly better shape than others.
“The main thing is that we raise as much money as we can to support the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, which provides such a vital service. They are completely funded by charitable donations and need over £4m a year to keep their two ambulances in operation, so if we can help towards achieving that total then all our efforts will have been well worth it.”
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STAFF at Leeds-based Adept Consulting Engineers have raised more than £1,200 for two charities after scaling Yorkshire’s Three Peaks.
The money will be divided between children’s charity Barnardo’s and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) after the 12-strong team climbed the peaks of Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough, covering a total distance of almost 25 miles.
Andrew Spencer, an engineer at Adept who organised the event, says: “This was a gruelling challenge but it’s certainly rewarding to complete it and see two very deserving charities benefitting from our efforts. Both charities do very worthwhile jobs in improving the lives of young people, under very different circumstances, so we’re delighted to be able to support them by tackling Yorkshire’s Three Peaks.”
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MAHMOOD Mazhar, the owner of Yorkshire-based business telecoms supplier Core Telecom, has funded the donation of a Sunshine Coach to The Forest School in Knaresborough, which has been provided to the School through Variety, The Childrens Charity.
The Forest School has 108 children in their care. The school caters for pupils with moderate to severe learning difficulties, autism, epilepsy, communication difficulties and other complex medical conditions.
The coach will be used to provide invaluable experiences such as Duke of Edinburgh expeditions and training visits, sporting events such as canoeing, sailing and swimming lessons along with residential visits to outdoor activity centres.
Mr Mazhar has a history of working with charities both in Yorkshire and across the UK. He has provided both financial and strategic support to a host of charities including The Disabilities Trust, Dreams & Wishes, Beth’s Angels and The Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
He said: “I’m delighted to have been able to work with both Variety, the Children’s Charity and The Forest School to provide such a valuable service. I thoroughly look forward to our support benefiting both the students and staff.
“I’m passionate about making a difference to inspirational organisations and improving the lives of individuals who rely on them.”
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BUSINESSES from across Yorkshire joined forces on the rounders field to raise money for Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice.
The event was organised by Huddersfield-based Code Blue Communications and Barnsley-based social enterprise Team Activ.
Lawyers, accountants, architects, car dealers, estate agents and wealth managers were among those making up the teams which competed on five pitches at Leeds Road Sports Complex in Huddersfield.
The tournament was won by Huddersfield refrigeration and air conditioning company Crowther and Shaw with the hard-hitting team from Audi coming a close second.
Darren Padgett, director at Team Activ which provides a range of innovative corporate activities for businesses and schools, said the event was a resounding display of team spirit and sportsmanship.
“A total of 11 businesses competed and the atmosphere was brilliant,” he said.
“We had a fabulous evening in the late summer sunshine and also managed to raise £660 for Forget Me Not.”
