Over 1,400 M&S employees taking part in the Britain’s largest 24 hour endurance event
‘Arc to Arch’ charity challenge will see 60 M&S employees & suppliers cycle from Paris to London
Marks & Spencer is gearing up for its biggest fundraising to date*, with over 1,400 M&S employees taking part in its BIKE 24 charity cycle challenge on Friday 21 June.
With the aim of raising £1.5million for five leading charities, M&S employees from its stores and offices across Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are backing the cyclists as they prepare for M&S’s unique fundraising event this summer.
BIKE 24 is a ‘Le Mans’ inspired 24 hour endurance event taking place at Rockingham Motor Racing Circuit in Corby. Employees will compete in teams of four; the relay will see a cyclist from each team on the track from 5pm on Friday 21st until 5pm on Saturday 22nd June. 23 experienced solo riders are also competing individually and will stay in the saddle for the whole duration of the challenge.
Each lap of the circuit will help M&S to raise crucial funds in support of its five charity partners: Breakthrough Breast Cancer, Action Medical Research, the Marie Keating Foundation, Action Cancer and Prostate Cancer UK.
Sacha Berendji, Director of Retail at M&S said: “Following the success of British cycling last summer, the nation has really taken the sport to its hearts. With more than double the number of participants this year, we’re delighted that our BIKE 24 charity cycle challenge will be bigger and better than ever. That’s why we’ve set an ambitious target to raise £1.5million for these five truly worthwhile charities.”
Ahead of the BIKE 24 event, a team of 60 M&S employees and suppliers will take part in M&S’s ‘Arc to Arch’ charity challenge. Starting on 6 June, the three day endurance challenge will see the team cycle 282 miles from M&S’s Champs Elysées store and L’Arc de Triomphe in Paris to the retailer’s flagship store at Marble Arch in London.
Both cycling events are part of the Your M&S Charity Challenge which will see a host of fundraising activities taking place at all M&S’ UK and Irish stores from 1 June to the end of August. Customers can donate online via the Virgin Money Giving page, www.virginmoneygiving.com/mandscharitychallenge, which contains further information on fundraising taking place across the UK as well as links to sponsor cyclists.
Gaby Roslin, patron of Breakthrough Breast Cancer, commented: “Marks & Spencer has been a wonderful supporter of Breakthrough Breast Cancer for over 12 years and this challenge is just another example of their fantastic fundraising work. As a long-term supporter of Breakthrough myself, I am so happy to be supporting the BIKE 24 challenge and all the fantastic M&S employees that are taking part. Their fundraising will help to make a big difference to the lives of the 50,000 women and 400 men who are diagnosed with breast cancer every year in the UK.”
Ronan Keating, co-founder of the Marie Keating Foundation, said: “On behalf of my family and the team at the Marie Keating Foundation I want to thank Marks & Spencer for supporting us again this year with the BIKE 24 challenge. Through your efforts and success the Foundation can continue to provide its cancer awareness campaigns and support cancer patients in need financially. Marks & Spencer and its people has, since the beginning been a true partner to us in our fight against cancer, and for this support we truly are so grateful”.
Neil Fox, ambassador of Prostate Cancer UK, said: “Having lost my dad to prostate cancer, I have seen first-hand how this disease can affect the whole family, which is why Prostate Cancer UK’s helpline is so important in supporting people with all the information and advice they might need. Over the years, M&S has been an incredible support, raising over £1.8 million, which has been invested into this nurse-led helpline.
“Bike24 is yet another innovation by the organisation to continue this legacy of support. It’s is a fantastic opportunity for M&S employees to take on a real challenge and raise funds for Prostate Cancer UK to support men with the disease, provide vital information and find answers by funding research into causes and treatments.”
Zoe Salmon, ambassador of Action Cancer, said: "Good luck to all of the cyslists with your 24 hour challenge and to M&S stores with your fundraising efforts. When the going gets tough remember that your support is helping someone in Northern Ireland to receive counselling and complementary therapy support for cancer; enabling men to receive health checks and provide breast screening for women. A huge thank you from me!"
Notes to Editors
*BIKE 24 follows M&S’s success last year in raising funds for Breakthrough Breast Cancer, the Marie Keating Foundation and Action Cancer as part of the Bike 400 Cycle Challenge. 660 M&S employees covered a total of 60,000 miles in a 24-hour cycle challenge at the Prodrive Race Track in Kenilworth.
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As part of Plan A, M&S’ ethical and environmental programme, the retailer is committed to helping its customers to make a difference to the social and environmental issues that matter to them.
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M&S and Breakthrough Breast Cancer have worked together for the last 12 years, raising over £19million for Breakthrough’s vital research. Breakthrough Breast Cancer is dedicated to saving lives through improving early diagnosis, developing new treatments and preventing all types of breast cancer. M&S fund the Breakthrough Generations Study, the world’s largest and most comprehensive study into finding the causes of breast cancer, following 115,000 women over 40 years.
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M&S and the Marie Keating Foundation have worked together for more than 10 years and to date the partnership has raised over €1miilion for the charity. The charity’s aim to ‘enlighten not frighten’ through its mobile information units and health information campaigns, it reaches out to as many people as possible.
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M&S and Action Cancer began working together in 2010 when £85,000 was raised through the M&S Ireland ‘On Your Bike’ charity fundraising campaign. In 2011 the M&S ‘5 Peaks Challenge’ raised money that went toward the development and launch of a unique ‘Breast Aware App’ to help inform and educate women on becoming more breast aware – the first of its kind in Northern Ireland allowing Action Cancer to deliver vital messages and advice on early detection. In 2012, the ‘Bike 400 Endurance Challenge’ raised £152,000 which has enabled Action Cancer to expand its Male MOT health check services, ensuring thousands of more men had health assessments and were offered recommended changes in lifestyles to reduce cancer risk and improve their overall health and well-being.
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M&S and Prostate Cancer UK have worked together for seven years raising over £1.8 million to help support the charity’s confidential helpline service, allowing men affected by prostate cancer time to talk over their diagnosis and treatment with a specialist nurse. Prostate Cancer UK fights to help more men survive prostate cancer and enjoy a better quality of life.
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M&S and Action Medical Research will be working together for the first time this year. Action Medical Research is the charity funding vital research to help sick and disabled babies and children. Surprisingly, medical research into conditions that devastate children’s lives is poorly funded. Funds from BIKE 24 will help Action Medical Research fund research into conditions including Down syndrome, premature birth, epilepsy, meningitis and rare diseases. Help us save and change children’s lives; just one breakthrough, however small, can mean the world.
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To help employees prepare for the challenge M&S has set up a website for employees with suggested training schemes, as well as free access to coaches and health assessments for the solo riders.
About the Bike 24 supporters
Rockingham Motor Racing Circuit
Rockingham, based in Corby, is one of the UK’s leading event venues, automotive testing and race circuits. Officially opened in 2001, the Northamptonshire race track is now in its 12th year and is still the first purpose built track to be constructed in the UK since 1907.
Complying with full FIA specifications, the track combines sweeping bends and high-speed straights with a highly technical infield section. Rockingham offers 13 different circuit configurations featuring hairpins, straights and chicanes with ample passing and run-off areas. Through the year the circuit hosts a range of race events each year including the British Touring Car Championship, British F3/GT and the Pickup Truck Racing Championship on the oval.
For further information on Rockingham Circuit please call: 01536 500500 or visit: www.rockingham.co.uk
The bikes ridden by the celebrity charity ambassadors were supplied from www.cyclesurgery.com
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2013 Charity & Community