20
September
2017
|
16:29
Europe/London

Big-hearted BT staff from the West Midlands get on their bikes in £80,000 fund-raiser for wheelie good cause

Summary
Major 175-mile cycle ride and 100-mile hiking challenges involving West Midlands workers will raise funds for Stand Up To Cancer.

Big-hearted BT staff are swapping their offices for the open road – but it’s all for a wheelie good cause.

The 100-strong team – including Steve Mingo, who lives and works in Dorridge - are getting on their bikes and cycling around 175 miles over three days to raise money for Stand Up To Cancer.

The colleagues, some of whom have not saddled up since childhood, are setting off from BT’s offices at Birmingham Business Park, in Solihull, on the morning of Tuesday, September 26.

They will be coming from all corners of the UK to take part in the event, dubbed the Tour de BT. Many of them have been affected by cancer in some way.

They all work for BT’s Business and Public Sector division, which provides national sales and account management to large and medium-sized organisations around the UK.

Steve, a senior product manager, has warmed up for the event by completing a 60-mile bike ride for the British Heart Foundation.

He said: “I enjoyed that experience so was keen to take part in this event. I’m sure most of us have known or heard of someone who has been affected by cancer. I’m relishing completing this bike ride whilst raising money for such a good cause.”

The sponsored ride is one of two major fundraising events organised by BT staff that week, which they hope will raise £80,000 for Stand Up To Cancer.

Around 130 miles away, 10 other colleagues will be tackling a 100-mile trek along part of the historic Offa’s Dyke path, which marks the boundary between England and Wales.

They will be setting off from Prestatyn in North Wales on Monday, September 25, and finish in Knighton in Powys, mid-Wales, on Friday, September 29, with other staff joining them daily for different stages of the walk.

They include Jenny Akers from Solihull and Nick Lake from Sutton Coldfield.

Jenny, a business development manager, who lives and works in Solihull, said: “I’ve seen a number of family members and close family friends lose their battle with cancer. So I’m walking in support of Stand Up To Cancer to help raise money for vital research into the disease.

“Having never owned a pair of hiking boots before June, I’m looking forward to the sense of achievement from completing the walk, and burning a few calories and extra pounds along the way as I raise money for this great cause.”

Anyone interested in supporting them can do so via either of the following links:

https://mydonate.bt.com/teams/tourdebt2017

https://mydonate.bt.com/teams/btcorporatealongwalk2017

Rachel Carr, head of Stand Up To Cancer, said: “We’d like to thank all at BT for taking part in this incredible event, trekking or cycling up to 175 miles across the country. It’s this kind of support and energy that we need to help take cancer down. We’ve made amazing progress in the fight against cancer over the last few decades, but one in two of us will still develop cancer in our lifetime, so we really can’t afford to stand still. This is why supporting Stand Up To Cancer is so important. All the money raised will go towards funding vital research to get game-changing treatments to patients faster and save lives.”

It’s the second year running BT staff have organised a sponsored walk and cycle ride. Similar events last year raised around £70,000 for BBC Children in Need.

-----ends-----

Issued by the BT regional press office. For more information please contact Emma Tennant on 0800 085 0660 or email: emma.tennant@bt.com Twitter: @EmmaTennantBT

All BT news releases can be accessed via: www.btplc.com/news/

About BT

BT’s purpose is to use the power of communications to make a better world. It is one of the world’s leading providers of communications services and solutions, serving customers in 180 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to its customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband, TV and internet products and services; and converged fixed-mobile products and services.BT consists of six customer-facing lines of business: Consumer, EE, Business and Public Sector, Global Services, Wholesale and Ventures, and Openreach.

For the year ended 31 March 2017, BT Group’s reported revenue was £24,062m with reported profit before taxation of £2,354m.

British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York.

For more information, visit www.btplc.com

About Stand Up To Cancer (UK):

  • Stand Up To Cancer is a joint national fundraising campaign from Cancer Research UK and Channel 4
  • The campaign returns this autumn with a variety of fundraising activities and a series of special programming on Channel 4
  • Launched in the UK in 2012, Stand Up To Cancer funds game-changing research that accelerates new cancer treatments and tests to UK patients to ultimately save more lives
  • More than £38 million has been raised in the UK to date and over 40 trials and projects have been funded, that will involve more than 10,000 cancer patients
  • Current research projects include the development of the ‘chemo package’ to deliver treatment at the best time for the patient; testing arsenic as a weapon to make cancer implode; using viruses to seek and destroy cancer cells while boosting the immune system, and much, much more!
  • Stand Up To Cancer is supported by a host of the biggest and brightest stars including Davina McCall, Alan Carr, Edith Bowman, James Morrison, Kirstie Allsopp, Melanie C and Kimberley Wyatt, Naomi Campbell, Noel Gallagher, Nicole Scherzinger, Pharrell Williams, Tom Hardy, Gillian Anderson, Britney Spears, Idris Elba, Andy Murray, Bradley Cooper, Taylor Swift, Martin Freeman, Jamie Oliver, Kathy Burke, Miranda Hart, Paul O’Grady, Richard Ayoade, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jack O’Connell, Lily James, Rosamund Pike, Sophie Turner, Stephen Graham, Toby Jones and Will Poulter.

To find out more about fundraising activities visit Standuptocancer.org.uk or channel4.co.uk/SU2C or on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram