When we found out 35 staff from Tilney would be taking on the #Tilney2Tokyo challenge to reach 5,840 miles this June in support of Children’s Heart Surgery Fund we couldn’t stop smiling.
The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected our fundraising activities and to know businesses are still keen to do what they can to help our Yorkshire charity means so much to our CHSF staff, nurses, young patients and their families.
Throughout this time the babies, children and their families we support have needed us more than ever and we have continued to help them throughout this pandemic.
We’ve done this through providing financial grants, care packages, accommodation and online wellbeing sessions. We simply couldn’t continue to do this, without the support of businesses like Tilney.
It’s been fantastic to follow their journey to Tokyo through the power of online media and we’ve been virtually cheering them on every step of the way.
Organised by Charles Coade, a director and financial planner at Tilney’s Leeds office, the challenge was to cover the distance from the firm’s city centre office to Tokyo – the location of this year’s cancelled Olympics.
The 35-strong team of staff from the financial planning and investment firm together cycled, run and walked a combined total of over 8,500 miles in June.
Charles said:
We were all working from home and I just thought we need a way to bring together our team in the office to try and do something a bit sporty without all being in the same place – to try and improve everyone’s well-being really.
And we just thought charities are really suffering and wanted to raise as much money as we possibly could.
So the team has spent the month of June leaving their home offices to clock up the miles – and have collectively smashed their target of 5,840 miles.
We hit [the Tokyo target] on 25th June. We got about five cyclists, three or four runners and the rest walking with their families – dragging their kids out, none older then five, and all their dogs and just went out walking pretty much before work.
We even managed to get some of the board of directors involved – trudging the pavements of London. It’s been really good how everyone’s got involved. Everyone has done far more than we planned. There’s been quite a few victory laps around the national stadium in Tokyo. I’m pretty chuffed.
Charles has supported CHSF in the past, having raised around £1,000 last year with Ian Gibson, a managing partner at Tilney’s Leeds office, cycling the charity event of the UCI World Road Championships in Harrogate. He said his initial target for this month’s fundraising was set at £2,000 but had to be repeatedly revised as the team raised more cash.
I then set it at £5,840 as I thought that’s how many miles we need to do – and we’ve still managed to smash that. I’m really happy. Tilney is going to add another £1,000 on top of our funds too.
The sum will give a much-needed boost to the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund which, like most charities, has seen a swathe of its planned funding streams this year wiped out with the coronavirus pandemic.
CHSF CEO, Sharon Milner said:
We were over the moon to hear that this event was taking place; support from Tilney’s has been excellent and inspiring to others at the same time.
Some of the people taking part have never ridden a bike before, so this makes it even more of an achievement. Thank you doesn’t seem enough, we are so grateful to all the participants and in particular to Charles Coade who thought of the idea!
Not only have they smashed their target of miles by doing several victory laps of the national stadium in Tokyo, but this team have now raised over £7,500 for Children’s Heart Surgery Fund, which is incredible!
Thank you #TeamTilney! We can only do what we do because of you!
Take on a challenge of your own
Could you get a group of colleagues together to fundraise for CHSF? Check out some virtual challenge ideas or get in touch with georgie.abbott@chsf.org.uk for more info!
