Colleagues, joined by those at home, spent the factory’s annual fortnight summer shutdown cycling, running and walking to achieve a collective target of 9,400 miles as part of a unique fundraising event for the company’s own Helping Hand charity, which in turn supports other local charities and good causes.
Factory to Festival Miles Better Together featured a range of challenges that included a special running event held by Revolution Running Club, 100-mile triathlons, half and full marathons, a Leyland to Lytham cycling challenge, coast-to-coast cycling journeys, a special 24-hour walking challenge from Kendal to Preston that totalled 58 miles and sprint sessions at CrossFit Leyland, together with family walks and cycle rides. Members of Leyland Rotary also organised a sponsored walk, covering more than 300 miles, which raised £1,675 in support of Miles Better Together.
A stand-out moment of the fortnight saw Leyland Trucks operations business unit manager, Ben Holloway, successfully pull a 7.5 tonne DAF LF truck for a total of 1.3km.
As well as Rosemere Cancer Foundation, St Catherine’s Hospice, The Ambulance Service Charity and other NHS frontline charities also received a share of the money it raised.
Dan Hill, Rosemere Cancer Foundation’s chief officer, said: “We are immensely grateful to everyone who took part in the fundraising festival and to Helping Hand for including us among the charities benefitting from the event.
“Over the years, we have received great support from Leyland Trucks. Its donations to us now total over £30,000 and have been put towards a variety of great projects, which have benefitted hundreds and hundreds of cancer patients throughout Lancashire and South Cumbria.”
Helping Hand chairman, Phil Jones, said: “Every single mile covered meant so much to all those involved and at a time when local causes need our help more than ever, we were determined to rally together for the benefit of others.
“Rosemere Cancer Foundation was hand-selected as one of our charity partners for Miles Better Together to ensure we could give back to those that had worked so tirelessly to deliver vital frontline and care services throughout COVID-19. The work they do touches the lives of so many people, including the Leyland Trucks team, and the amount raised will make a fundamental difference.”
Rosemere Cancer Foundation works to bring world class cancer treatments and services to cancer patients from throughout the two counties being treated at Rosemere Cancer Centre, the region’s specialist cancer and radiotherapy treatment centre at the Royal Preston Hospital, and at another eight local hospital cancer units, including that at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital.
The charity funds cutting edge equipment, research, training and other cancer services and therapies that the NHS is unable to afford. For further information on its work, including how to make a donation, visit www.rosemere.org.uk
