Sackers waste and recycling staff undertook a 24-hour challenge to raise money for a local Essex charity called Re-cycle Bikes to Africa.
The charity receives used bikes, preps them and sends them to different parts of Africa enabling children to get to school and adults get to work.
Sackers cycled a static bike to reach the target of 290 miles which is the distance the average child in Africa walks in two months to get to school. By midnight, they had hit the target and the MD challenged the group to keep going and every mile covered would be £2 from Sackers. They cycled a total of 400 miles.
About 25 members of staff took part throughout the day and night, pulling in the occasional guest to have a spin to add to the miles. The bike didn’t stop apart from the change of rider.
The total raised was £3,700 with donations from many local businesses like MSC Shipping as well as individuals. Full list of donors is on here.
David Dodds, who is the brains behind the challenge, said: “I personally love cycling, and coincidentally I go to Africa to ride once or twice a year as part of Hot Chillee cycling events.
“When I found out about this charity that changes lives by sending bikes to those less fortunate in Africa – and the bikes are re-cycled, it was clearly meant to be. We couldn’t possibly get a better fit. We are staggered by how much generosity there has been. We thank everyone involved as donors or even cyclists, it was a hard challenge doing it through the night”.
Lindsay Hurrell, fundraising and marketing manager for Re-Cycle, said: “We are blown away by the fantastic amount of money that has been raised by Sackers. Being such a small charity, we rely on the support of corporate organisations to enable us to continue what we do, supplying bikes to disadvantaged adults and children in Africa.
“By re-cycling bikes here in the UK enables the charity to help the environment by preventing bikes from going to landfill. We also provide volunteering opportunities to over 30 volunteers, who are vital to the charity. Special thanks to David Dodds for allowing his staff to undertake the challenge.”
