A quartet of staff will go the extra mile in order to raise funds for Scotmid Co-operative’s charity of the year Childline by cycling from coast to coast in our Lakes and Dales region.
Jim Harper, 48, and staff from the Lakes and Dales stores will saddle up for the 150 mile journey from Whitehaven to Tynemouth on 16-17 May aiming to raise £4,000 for the children’s charity and its Childline service.
Sponsor the Coast to Coast Charity Cycle
A passionate fundraiser Region 8 Business Manager for nine years, Jim has previously rode the length of Britain from Land’s End to John O’Groats and cycled from London to Paris, but his latest challenge will see him and his group of peddling pals encounter a new type of challenge.
Following part of the route of last year’s Tour of Britain, the group will start their two-day trip by scaling the summit of Hart Side Mountain in the Lake District, a 2,000ft climb which forms just a fifth of a total of 10,000ft of uphill cycling over the challenge.
Along the way the group will stop in at most of the 10 Lakes and Dales Scotmid shops for some much needed rest, recovery and motivation as they bid to add to the already incredible figure raised by stores across the country in their quest to raise £300,000 for Childline’s 30th anniversary.
Jim, who has worked at Scotmid for 16 years said: “I’m looking forward to it and there’s a lot of benefit in doing something like this that can help individuals become part of a team.
“I’m part of the charity committee at Scotmid that helps to choose our partners and when I heard the pitch from the NSPCC and Childline I knew how important it would be.
“I’ve also been fortunate enough to have had had Esther Rantzen at one of my shops to thank staff for fundraising for Childline as well so the message has landed and it’s a wonderful charity.”
Deborah Quinn, corporate fundraising executive with NSPCC Scotland’s Childline said: “We are so grateful for the time and effort that Jim and the team have put into organising and training for the coast to coast cycling challenge.
“It shows an amazing commitment and dedication in raising funds for Childline. The £4,000 target they have set themselves is equivalent to the cost of answering 1,000 Childline calls from children and young people who need our support and is greatly appreciated.”