Commercial property specialist Mark Richardson, who is a partner at BB&J Commercial in The Wyvern, Derby, has raised more than £1,000 for local specialist child exploitation charity Safe and Sound.
Mark is the charity’s chair of trustees and pledged to cycle the 150 mile coast to coast route in one day as part of BB&J Commercial’s support for Safe and Sound’s 20th anniversary year. The challenging route from Seascale on the west coast, through the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales, Vale of York and North Yorkshire Moors to Whitby on the east coast took Mark 10½ hours to complete in blistering heat.
Mark said: “As well as heading the board of trustees who all bring professional skills to the table and raising awareness across our networks of the dangers facing children and young people in our local communities, I am glad that I have been able to put my love of cycling to good use and raise money for this great charity.
“I have been cycling for about ten years and, during that time, I have done some memorable endurance rides in the UK and Europe including three road routes in one day up Mont Ventoux in France to celebrate my 50th birthday. “This time, it was far hotter than forecast and there were some tough climbs but my companions and I had done a lot of training in the Peak District which held us in good stead.
“People are still pledging money and I hope to hit my £1,500 target in the coming weeks. This will be put to great use by the team at Safe and Sound who are doing a fantastic job supporting and protecting young people and their families whose lives have been affected by child exploitation.
“I am now looking forward to planning my next fundraising challenge which may involve two wheels – or something totally different.”
Safe and Sound CEO Tracy Harrison added: “We are very grateful to Mark for his commitment to the charity both with his business hat and cycling helmet on! We depend greatly on the generosity of individuals, organisations and businesses to raise money for our work so that we can keep pace with the rising demand for our help and support across the city and county due to the increase in online and in-person child exploitation.”
For more information about Safe and Sound and how to support the work it does, please visit https://safeandsoundgroup.org.uk/
Many thanks to Photographer Andy Milton for the fabulous image of Mark!