Clearview National January 2019 - Issue 206 | Page 31

INDUSTRYNEWS
Tell us more about the
other challenges?
GM: “Top2Bottom was the
first in 2005: A team of 10,
including current riders Alan
Sadler, Alan Rothwell, Graeme
Bailey, Gary Torr and myself,
cycled 974 miles from John
O’Groats to Land’s End over 13
days and raised over £51,000.
‘From Russia With Hope’ far
exceeds this challenge and it’s
amazing to think how far they
have come.”
Summary of rides to date:
2005: Top2Bottom
John O’Groats to Lands End
974 miles - £51,000
2006: Tower2Tower
Eifel Tower to Blackpool Tower
473 miles - £34,000
2008: Ride4Hope
San Diego to Atlantic City
3,182 miles - £91,000
2010: Rome2Home
Rome to Hope House
1,590 miles – £51,000
2013: Hope66
Chicago to Santa Monica
2,660 miles - £134,000
2016: Border2Border
Vancouver to Mexican Border
2,172 miles - £186,000
Totals: 11,051 miles; £547,000
How much are you
looking to raise?
GM: “The target for this ride
is £125,000, contributing to
our overall drive to raise £2m
by 2020. The individuals in the
team are responsible for meeting
(and hopefully) exceeding their
funding targets and they cover
all their own costs for the trip
and training etc... This means
that every penny they raise goes
directly to the children and
families at Hope House.
“These rides would not be
possible without the headline
sponsor, who covers all the
‘overheads’ of the ride and we are
delighted that Nick Dutton and
Steve Stewart from Brisant Secure
have committed support to us in
this challenge.”
£2m by 2020 is a tough
target, and a lot of money
– where does it go?
GM: “Since 1999 Hope House
Children’s Hospices has been
our nominated charity and every
penny we’ve raised has gone
directly to them in support of the
amazing work they do. Hope
House provide care and support
to life limited children, young
people and their families, their
specialist teams work to ensure
no-one suffers the death of a child
alone.
‘much of the
support is made
up of small
donations’
“While we aim to run high-
profile events that have helped us
raised this tremendous amount,
much of the support is made up
of small donations in sponsorship,
raffle prizes, cake sales etc. It’s not
all about the big money - £700
means that a child can spend
a day in the Snowflake suite, a
temperature controlled bedroom
where a family can spend precious
time saying their last goodbyes.
£200 will provide the art and
craft materials for a week in
our playroom where precious
memories are made.”
Tell us more about
Hope House?
GM: “Based in Oswestry and
Conwy Bay, the hospices provide
palliative care and support to
life limited children by offering
a wide range of services. It is
more than just a hospice though,
they provide a service to support
children with life-limiting illness
and their families in any way
possible to improve their quality
of life.
“They help around 750
families per year. Care can
start from the day the child is
born and run throughout their
whole life, with further support
thereafter for the families for
as long as they need it. This is
delivered in the form of respite
care, short stays, nursing at
home, counselling and end of
life care.
“They are always open - 24
hours, seven days a week, 365
days per year.
“The charity costs £6.3m per
annum to run and receives just
a small amount of statutory
funding each year; 84% comes
from donations, the rest from
Grants and the NHS. Currently
three local children die each
week and Hope House can
only afford to help one, this
breaks our hearts and with more
funding they could ensure that
no family suffers the death of a
child alone.”
Sounds like a great event
and a great cause! If
readers want to find out
more, where do they go?
GM: “There is a dedicated
event page on our website
where you can find out more
about the challenge and the
team taking part, with links
to the team and individual
fundraising pages on JustGiving:
www.gmfundraising.co.uk/
fromrussiawithhope. We will
also be reporting news on
training and the build up to
the ride on social media – we
are on Facebook and twitter
(@gmfundraising), or you can
follow #FRWHope to get the
latest news.”
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