Vodafone's 'Big Ride' for Lifetracks
On 4 July 2009, 22 cyclists and four support crew from Vodafone (Team-SIM) set out on a gruelling 10-day ride from Newbury to the Pyrenees and back. On top of this incredible feat they raised £80,000 for Lifetracks.
The team cycled 1000 miles in 10 days, starting and finishing at Vodafone headquarters in Newbury, Berkshire. Heading through France and Spain, the team rode over the Pyrenees taking on four iconic Tour de France climbs. Not an easy task. Friends, family and colleagues could even keep a close eye on the team via their tracker system, which illustrated their position at any given time.
The team cycled 1000 miles in 10 days
The team's fantastic fundraising success was achieved through a mixture of offline and online donations and the Vodafone Foundation match fund, which contributed £40,000 to the total. They approached suppliers, friends, family, and ran a fundraising day within the Vodafone canteen.
The team worked particularly hard to engage with their donors, keeping them up-to-date with their latest progress via Facebook, twitter, their blog, a website and their JustGiving page.
Team-SIM's efforts have certainly paid off and are hugely appreciated by everyone involved in Lifetracks, as their support will have a direct impact on 16 to 25 year-olds across the UK. They are a great example of a team who stepped up to a challenge to create inspiring results.
The event was the brainchild of Alex Paterson who works in Vodafone's corporate responsibility department. With colleagues eager to get involved and take up the challenge too, the ride was soon full. A huge effort was put into training, which took up a number of months and provided the team with a great opportunity to get to know each other before the big event. We talk to Alex:
1) What motivated you to organise the 'Big Ride'?
I think the honest answer is that we're a bunch of overly-enthusiastic cyclists who are up for a challenge! There was a bit of method in our madness, though - over a number of years, a group of cyclists from work had ridden together in various charity events, raising money for individual causes.
2) Why did you choose to raise money for Lifetracks?
We learnt that The Vodafone Foundation had just begun supporting Lifetracks and when the team found out more about its invaluable work, the choice to raise money for this cause was clear. The team was really enthusiastic about raising money for a new project like this. We liked the fact it's helping young people to make important, life-changing decisions so they can make the most of their skills and feel properly valued in return.
3) How did you manage to raise over £80,000?
We pulled out all the stops: along with our fundraising page online, we took full advantage of Vodafone's position by promoting the event on a dedicated section of Vodafone's global website. We also spoke with some of our key suppliers to ask for their support – the more we publicised the ride, the more likely they'd be to support us financially.
But we can't forget the incredible support given to the ride by colleagues, friends and family, who together contributed nearly £20,000. Getting several companies behind us was a wonderful achievement, but knowing there were also hundreds of individuals backing us too, was truly heartening.
As Vodafone employees, we are also entitled to 'matched funding' from The Vodafone Foundation, in this case, penny-for-penny.
Still, even we couldn't believe it when the figures came back after our return with a total of over £80,000 – nearly three times our original target!
4) What was your highlight of the whole experience?
I had never cycled any mountains before this trip, so climbing the 19km from Luz Saint Sauveur to the top of the Col du Tourmalet (the highest road in the Pyrenees at 2115m – nearly 7000ft) was an amazing experience.
The other highlight has to be our return to Vodafone's offices in Newbury. We were hoping that a handful of colleagues would be waiting, together with friends and family, to welcome the team home. But we couldn't have been more surprised when we turned the final corner and crossed the finishing line to see over 200 people applauding our return! The atmosphere was wonderfully lifting and it really felt like a fitting end to a remarkable achievement.