Leasedrive VELO

Latest Leasedrive Velo charity bike ride raises £15k
26 July 2010

The final amount raised by a team of 14 riders entered by the Leasedrive Velo Group, one of the UK’s largest independent privately-owned vehicle management groups, in a specially-organised 270-mile charity bike ride between Wokingham and Le Mans in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care and the RNLI, was £14,652.

Roddy Graham, commercial director of Leasedrive Velo Group, said: “Our original target was £5,000 and, thanks to all the generous support from corporate sponsors and private individuals, we have effectively tripled that target, which is a tremendous effort in the current economic climate.”

Marie Curie Cancer Care, one of the UK’s oldest charities, has been the company’s nominated charity since 2005. The charity undertakes cancer research and nurses terminally-ill patients as they draw to the close of their lives. Meanwhile, the RNLI saves lives at sea.

The Leasedrive Velo Group team started from the group’s headquarters in Wokingham on June 26 and arrived at the famous Le Mans circuit on June 29 after covering 270 miles in sweltering hot conditions, with temperatures as high as 37 degrees Centigrade.

Corporate sponsors included Leasedrive Velo, Thrifty Car & Van Rental, Boehringer Ingelheim, CHP Consulting, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, the Hughes Group, IDS, KeeResources, Lloyds Register, Peugeot and the Sytner Group.

- Ends-

Notes to Editors:

Marie Curie Cancer Care
Marie Curie Cancer Care is one of the UK’s largest charities. It was established in 1948 – the same year as the NHS. Employing more than 2,700 nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals, Marie Curie Cancer Care expects to provide care to around 29,000 terminally ill patients in the community and in its hospices in 2010 along with support for their families.

Marie Curie Cancer Care has nine hospices across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and two centres for palliative care research. While Marie Curie Cancer Care mainly cares for people with cancer it also cares for people with other life limiting illnesses. The charity also runs the world-renowned Marie Curie Research Institute, which investigates the causes and treatments of cancer. It funds seven scientific teams investigating the causes of and treatments for cancer.

Financially, around 70 per cent of the charity’s income comes from the generous support of thousands of individuals, membership organisations and businesses, with the balance of funds coming from the NHS.

RNLI
The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 235 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and has more than 140 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824 its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 137,000 lives.

For more information on the RNLI please visit www.rnli.org.uk

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