Le Tour cyclist raises £10K for Cure Leukaemia

BREWIN Dolphin wealth manager Stephen Jones, who rode all 21 stages of the 2015 Tour de France route in July in aid of Cure Leukaemia, has raised an additional £10,000 for the charity after a celebratory dinner in Dorridge.

The father of two joined former England, Crystal Palace and Wolverhampton Wanderers footballer and Cure Leukaemia patron Geoff Thomas, on ‘Le Tour – One Day Ahead’ with nine other cyclists. These amateurs took on the full Tour de France route, a day before the likes of Chris Froome.

Stephen had already raised £70,000 for Cure Leukaemia but wanted to continue the fundraising by holding a celebratory dinner for friends, colleagues and fellow riders at the Forest Hotel, Dorridge.

Blood cancer survivor Geoff and fellow riders James Maltin, of Rathbones in London, Melissa Brand, who works at the Solihull office of Prologis, and Sigma director Doug McKinnon all attended and entertained guests with stories from their epic experience.

With a raffle and auction, the evening was a great success and Stephen was delighted to raise another £10,000 for the cause.

He said: “I’m thrilled the evening was a success. The guests enjoyed hearing about this phenomenal experience I was honoured to be a part of.

“Having met Professor Charlie Craddock, the co-founder of Cure Leukaemia, and some of the patients currently battling blood cancer, I know how important this charity is for not only the Midlands but also for the global fight against this terrible disease.”

Wilkes tells Secret Santa “you’re fired!”

LOCAL law firm The Wilkes Partnership is ditching Secret Santa this Christmas to support children’s fun and happiness charity KidsOut’s Giving Tree Appeal, and is urging other businesses to do the same.

KidsOut, a charity that focuses on giving vulnerable children fun and happiness through positive experiences, has teamed up with The Wilkes Partnership.
Together, they are inviting companies to get involved in buying Christmas presents for children affected by domestic violence by setting up a Giving Tree in their office.

Rick Smyth, partner at The Wilkes Partnership and co-chair of the region’s KidsOut committee, said: “We have run the Giving Tree scheme for the last three years, and it has proved very popular.

“The idea is simple, instead of buying each other presents, staff take a tag (supplied by KidsOut) with a present request on it from the firm’s Christmas tree and buy a gift for a child in one of the region’s crisis centres instead.

“The firm then drops the gifts off at a central collection point and KidsOut does the rest to make sure that toy makes it to a child in need.”

Father and son cycling challenge raises funds for charity

CPBIGWOOD partner Stephen Prichard and his son Mathew have raised more than £700 after taking part in a cycling event.
 
They were part of the Tommy Godwin Challenge, a 100 km ride through the lanes of Warwickshire.
 
The money will go to CLAPA – the Cleft Lip & Pallet Association.
 
“I took four hours three minutes and Mat took three hours 51 minutes which was a pretty good effort for a first attempt,” said Stephen. “The weather was great but not the climbs during the last 25 km! However it was a great experience to pedal alongside 300 other riders.
 
“Mat and I are most grateful for all the support and generosity we received which will be very much appreciated by CLAPA who will also benefit from the Gift Aid involved.”
 
Overall, the event, including entry fees, raised more than £8,000 for the Marie Curie Hospice in Solihull.
 
The Tommy Godwin Challenge was set up in 2013 to honour the memory of the 1948 Olympic cycling bronze medallist.
 
Tommy spent his last days at the hospice.

East End Foods helping to save sight

THIS Christmas East End Foods is aiming to raise £15,000 for the charity Sightsavers – enough to fund 500 sight saving operations for people with blinding cataracts across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Africa.

10p from every pack of 10kg and 20p from 20kg bags of Premium Gold Chapatti flour and East End Basmati rice will go towards helping Sightsavers transform the lives of people living with blinding cataracts.
 
These products will be available in store until December 31.
 
More than 20m people in the world are blind due to cataracts. Yet the condition is easily treatable with a straightforward operation. For many people living in the poorest parts of the world however, surgery is beyond their means. Often people can’t get to a health centre, they don’t know their condition is treatable, or simply can’t afford the operation.

David Wouhra, managing director of East End Foods, said: “This is the latest project by East End Foods as part of its commitment to continually improving the health and social status of our society.

“We are very grateful to Sightsavers for the opportunity to help us restore sight to and improve the lives of many more people.”