BT Colleagues saddle up for 1,500-mile ride for Sport Relief
Davina McCall inspires Manchester workers to get on their bikes in bid to raise £2,200
While people around the UK have been watching in awe as Davina McCall tackles this year’s BT Sport Relief Challenge, a group of BT colleagues from Manchester
are preparing for one of their own.
Keith West from Wigan, Steve Hanley from Droylsden, Peter Hall from Heywood, Carl Crichton-Prince from Middleton, Iain Harris from Altrincham and Dave
Baynes from Whitefield are planning to cycle nearly 250 miles each over three days.
And if that’s not a big enough challenge, they’ve also set themselves the ambitious target of raising nearly £10 for every mile they cover.
They will be joined on the ride by Steve’s father-in-law, Gary Hanley, and backed by colleagues from BT Fleet who will be providing a support vehicle for
the cyclists.
The group are riding from BT’s offices in Southampton back to their base in Chapel Street, Salford.
The route has been specially planned to take in other BT offices in Oxford and Wolverhampton to enable staff there to cheer the cyclists on their way
and support their fundraising efforts.
Keith, aged 37, the team leader, said: “This is an amazing challenge where a team of relatively novice cyclists are embarking on a massive challenge for a very
worthwhile cause.
“The support and encouragement we’ve had so far has been fantastic and has caused a real buzz around the office.
“Most of us have bought new bikes for the challenge and we discuss our aches and pains from the gruelling training sessions that we have completed every
day.”
They aim to set off early on Wednesday, March 19 and if everything goes to plan they’ll complete the ride on the afternoon of Friday March 21 – Sport Relief Day.
Anyone interested in sponsoring the team can do so via the MyDonate website, with every penny pledged going direct to Sport Relief:
http://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/btmanchester
Preparing for the ride has not been plain sailing, with one of the team falling off their new bike and another experiencing brake failure.
Keith, who hasn’t ridden a bike properly for nearly 20 years, added: “We had a few mishaps when we first began training, but we’re back on track now.”
Mike Blackburn, BT’s regional director for the North West, said: “This team embodies the spirit of what BT employees are doing across the region and around
the country to raise money for Sport Relief.”
As well as sponsoring Davina McCall’s amazing efforts, BT has also made her the voice of the BT Speaking Clock until March 23 (the end of Sport Relief weekend),
with 10p from every call made from a BT landline going to Sport Relief*.
Meanwhile, BT’s call centre in Warrington will be one of eight BT offices being transformed into pledge centres on Sport Relief night. BT staff based there will again
be giving up their own time to take telephone donations from people around the UK throughout the evening.
Note to Editors
*If you call the BT Speaking Clock from a BT fixed line in the UK between January 27 and March 23, 2014 you will be helping BT to raise funds to support Sport Relief. BT will donate 10p to Sport Relief for every call made from a BT fixed line in the UK to the BT Speaking Clock during this period. Calls cost 31p from BT Residential lines. Mobile and other providers’ costs may vary and not all providers use the BT Speaking Clock. In support of Comic Relief, registered charity 326568 (England/Wales); SC039730 (Scotland).
