CPBigwood man’s double skydive raises funds for hospice

CPBigwood’s Rob Hutton has taken a charity leap of faith in honour of his late wife.

Rob, director of risk management at the Birmingham property consultancy, has twice thrown himself out of a plane at 12,000 ft.

It was all about raising money for Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice where his wife Margaret passed away in 2011, aged 61, due to a brain tumour.

With donations still coming in, the total raised has reached £2,572.

“The response has been brilliant,” said Rob. “People have been very kind.
“Margaret was a devoted wife, mother and friend – a kind, caring, loving and thoughtful person who always put others first, and is sadly missed.

“She spent her last days in St Mary’s and I was truly grateful to the loving, caring, and compassionate staff there. While I can never fully thank them enough I can try to help their cause financially and hence the sky dives.”

NEC Group raises over £21,000 for Help for Heroes

KEITH Marriott, group general counsel for the NEC Group, has presented Help for Heroes with a cheque for more than £19,000, marking the end of a successful year of fundraising for the NEC’s employee-elected charity of the year.

Shirley Ward, representing Help for Heroes, visited the National Exhibition Centre to receive a final donation of £21,419.92 on behalf of the charity, which will be used to provide practical and direct support for the country’s wounded servicemen, women, veterans and their families.

Employees of the NEC Group raised the money through a series of fundraising activities over the course of a year including cake sales, dress down Fridays and staff contributions from staff ticket sales.

Keith, who spent 14 years in the Royal Army Medical Corp, reaching the rank of sergeant major before studying for his law degree, is a big supporter of Help for Heroes and was delighted to present the cheque.

He said: “Having served in the British Army for many years, I know just how much the members of the armed forces appreciate the work of Help for Heroes and therefore the value of every penny that is donated to the charity.

“I want to thank the staff across the NEC Group for their contributions and fundraising efforts over the last 12 months.”

Cyrille in the saddle for big bike challenge

FOOTBALL legends and stars of radio embraced pedal power in Coventry to support a unique cycling initiative which aims to clock up 77,777 miles and raise £100,000 for the Help Harry Help Others charity.
 
Former Coventry City, West Brom and Aston Villa star star Cyrille Regis was joined by former Baggies player Brendan Batson, well-known fundraiser ‘Blind Dave’ Heeley, Ian Danter, of Talk Sport, Tom Ross, of Free Radio, and Phil Upton, of BBC Coventry & Warwickshire.

The group got together to contribute miles to the cause by pedalling exercise bikes, while encouraging others to dust down their bikes and get involved in the 7-in-Seven Big Bike challenge.

The final day of the ambitious event will begin at the Ricoh Arena on September 29 as more than 200 cyclists travel from Coventry to Birmingham’s Centenary Square for a spectacular festival of the bike.

Cyrille said: “It’s a great honour to be involved in the first ever 7-in-Seven Big Bike challenge and I hope as many people as possible get involved to try to reach the targets of 77,777 miles and £100,000 raised for Help Harry Help Others.”

Tim Andrews, managing director of Birmingham signage firm Hollywood Monster and event organiser, said: “I’m thrilled that we’ve had support from stars such as Cyrille, Brendan, Tom, Ian and Phil and I hope that their involvement will encourage hundreds of other people to get back on their bikes and join our exciting initiative.”

Serco team triumphs for charity at the British 10K

MORE than 40 people from Birmingham-based international service company Serco  took part in the British 10k in memory of 14 year old Aoife O’Connor who passed away last year. 

Running for The Brain Tumour Charity, the Serco team had been inspired to complete the course for the daughter of employee Mark O’Connor, who sadly passed away less than a year after being diagnosed with the condition.

The Serco team ran the 10 kilometre course in 30+ degree heat and between them have raised more than £15,000 for vital research.

The Brain Tumour Charity is the largest dedicated funder of research into brain tumours in the UK. Published figures show 9,000 people are diagnosed with a primary brain tumour each year, but due to deficiencies in the way diagnoses are recorded, the charity believes the real figure could be much higher. A quarter of these people will sadly die.

Abbie Stone, events officer at The Brain Tumour Charity, said: “The atmosphere where the spectators were standing was just phenomenal. Charities stood side by side cheering on their runners, making as much noise as possible and having a team of over 80 runners for The Brain Tumour Charity, we were kept busy cheering for them.

“They all did fantastically well and the Serco team achievement in raising over £15,000 is an incredible result.”