[T]he Beijing Biddies, who have captured the imagination with a series of quirky road challenges, have smashed their target and raised £114,000 for cancer charities.
The four women, who set out to raise £100,000 for Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support, broke through their target with their third and final challenge, driving around Britain in two Tuk Tuks at the beginning of May.
Team leader Edwina Sorkin said: “This is an amazing amount of money to raise and we are thrilled that our last-ever challenge has been so successful. However we want to raise as much as we can and have plans for a couple of fundraising events over the next few months, so hopefully we can keep the money coming in.”
The team, Edwina Sorkin, of Newbiggin-on-Lune, Kirkby Stephen; Kate Sleath, from Wetherby, in Yorkshire; Helen Stobart and Liz Tinkler, both from Penrith; travelled 1100 miles in two motorised rickshaws to raise money for the fight against children`s cancers.
During the challenge – which was expected to take 14-16 days but was achieved in a remarkable 12 days – they visited cancer research centres and units in Edinburgh, Newcastle, Harrogate, Cambridge, London, Merthyr Tydfil and Manchester.
Edwina said: “We met so many people on the roads of Britain who came up to us with their own stories of their experiences of cancer, and to donate money to our cause. We are eternally grateful for all the support and kindness that we encountered on our journey.
“Our motivation was to raise as much money as possible for our two cancer charities. We also wanted to raise awareness of this awful disease and we have certainly done that with this wacky challenge.”
It is just over three years since Edwina and Kate, calling themselves the Beijing Biddies, drove from the UK to the Chinese capital in just 29 days for the two cancer charities. Last year they were joined by Helen and Liz plus Kerrie Ellison to drive from Carlisle to the Arctic Circle with no overnight stops, completing that challenge in four days.
For more information, visit www.beijingbiddies.co.uk
