Pedal power drives charity challenge

A charity providing support for bereaved parents is set to benefit from the efforts of staff at a Stafford housing association who have risen to a gruelling sporting challenge.

Teams from across Stafford and Rural Homes (SARH) have been competing against each other to see who could ‘travel’ the most kilometres in an hour on an exercise bike whilst raising money for A Child of Mine.

Together they raised nearly £130 for the Stafford-based charity that was founded by local mum, Gayle Routledge, who lost her own son to a rare form of childhood cancer.

Jo Hough, Assistant Director of Organisational Development at SARH, commented: “A Child of Mine is our adopted charity for the year and, with the Olympics just three months away, we thought this would be a great way to set off on our 2016 fundraising journey.

“We have a few fans of the Tour de France around the organisation and we are also keen on helping staff and customers to adopt a healthier lifestyle, so it made perfect sense to set up a couple of exercise bikes at our offices in Parker Court and get peddling!”

The winners on the day, calling themselves Cycle Therapy, was made up of four staff from the housing association’s You First team that helps older customer live more independent lives. They clocked up an impressive 33.1km between them with Toby’s Terminal Velocity, from the Homes and Neighbourhoods team a close second with 31.4km.

Jo, who took part in the challenge herself, added: “It was a fantastic effort from everyone involved and we’re proud to be able to support such a worthwhile cause in our tenth anniversary year.”

Pictured: Andrew Higgins, Liz Pilley, Francesca Walters, Heather Brookes, Denise Johnson, Annette Hopkins and Paul Sherrington of SARH.