On the 26th of July 2023 VHR took on the challenge to raise money for Bede House, a local charity to our London office.
2 bikes, 20 hours, 1 team.
30 people in the VHR London Office and one employee all the way from our UAE office took part in this momentous charity event for VHR. The push for everyone to take part in this activity was supported highly by VHR’s CEO Danny Brooks, who said “The event is meant to be fun but challenging. We are supporting a local charity – BEDE that supports people who are a lot less fortunate than ourselves”.
VHR are renowned for taking part in charity events over the years, the latest being the London Marathon where our Management Accountant Alexander Giles took part and finished with an outstanding time of 3 hours, 40 minutes, and 40 seconds. In previous years, our CEO Danny Brooks and Ryan Abbot our Divisional Director also took part. VHR have also previously taken part in Macmillan Coffee Mornings, The Captains Ride, Loud Shirt Day’s, Movember, The Santa Run, Edinburgh Marathon and Christmas Jumper Day all in aid of different charities around the world. Raising over £25,000 for charity in the past four years, VHR was ready to take on our next big challenge.
To celebrate VHR turning 20 this year, VHR wanted to choose an activity that would drive our team, with some people taking it slow and others pushing themselves to their limits, we wanted to find an activity that was fit for everyone. The charity we are cycling for, BEDE House, supports a wide variety of people; People with learning difficulties, Youth, People who have suffered domestic abuse and the local community. Danny shared the main reason we are doing this is that “all these people have lives a lot more challenging than sitting on a bike for an hour or so and raising a bit of money for charity. A little bit of effort on our side will make a world of difference to the people that BEDE helps”.
VHR chose to support BEDE House for this charity event due to the fact that we are celebrating our 20th birthday and 20 years in the Bermondsey area, we wanted to give back to those who help our local community. Throughout the 20 years of VHR, we have strived to help those around us through a variety of schemes and charity days. BEDE House are a charity based in Bermondsey, London, who focus primarily on providing comprehensive support to address various challenges. With a legacy dating back to 1938, they have dedicated their time to empowering both the youth and elderly, enabling them to lead enriching and fulfilling lives. To achieve this, we have meticulously designed four distinct programs, each tailored to cater to specific needs within the community
The overall day was a great success for all those who took part in the office and for the charity. So far, as of the 28th of July, VHR have raised £1,450 out of our £1,500 target. Starting at 6am, the team consecutively pedalled on rotation for 20 hours, swapping out either every 30 minutes, hour or for one individual an hour and a half. The floods of donations kept the team motivated and driven to succeed to the end of the 20 hours, even when there were only 3 people left in the office on the graveyard shift, Danny stated “I wanted to be there at both the start and the end to see this through, I am a big advocate of raising money for charity, exercise and motivating those around me to push through and complete the challenge”.
VHR always strives to do the most in each activity they do, and this charity event was no different, we are extremely proud of how well the team rallied together to complete the 20 hours and achieving an astonishing 855.02 miles overall. The fastest time was cycled 15 miles in 30 minutes, which is a brilliant effort by a VHR team member.
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