Charity Arran bike ride raises cash for CHAS
A retired plumber has raised more than £4,000 for Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS) by cycling 56 miles round Arran.
George Young, 72, is also a former board member of the Scottish and Northern Ireland’s Plumbing Employer’s Federation (SNIPEF), which usually raises funds for CHAS at its annual dinner.
This year though, with the pandemic scuppering fundraising plans, George decided to take on the challenge himself with the support of his SNIPEF colleagues.
George said: ‘In the days before Covid, the Glasgow and rest of Scotland branch of SNIPEF enjoyed an annual dinner, usually at The Radisson Blu in Glasgow.
‘And every year at the dinner, members and their guests would raise around £2,000 for CHAS.
‘Obviously, with the pandemic, there has been no annual get-together since 2019 and it occurred me that the charity must be under pressure from an absence of the funding it was used to.
‘The idea of vulnerable children also suffering from the impact of Covid set me off on the idea of getting sponsored by lots of my old SNIPEF friends, colleagues and associates to make the 56-mile cycle round the beautiful Isle of Arran.
‘I started and finished at Brodick and it was up and down hill most of the way.
‘Not so easy when you have an artificial knee and a dodgy shoulder, but I managed it in just over five hours.
‘My wife was my support team and was on standby in case I broke my bike or fell off. I am now counting our sponsorship money as it comes in. I’ve raised £4,170 including gift aid so far.’
The fundraising efforts have received praise from Rachel Gedge, community fundraiser at CHAS, who said: ‘We are so grateful to George. It’s a tough challenge.
‘Everything George raises will make a difference to children and families across Scotland.’