Jigsaw Children’s Hospice has received nearly £9,000 thanks to three cyclists who rode from Land’s End to John O’Groats.
George Bamford cycled the 900 miles from one end of the UK to the other, accompanied by Richard Telfer and his son Fred.
George raised almost £90,000 to be shared between 11 children’s charities which work with communities along the route. Jigsaw, the only children’s hospice in Cumbria, received £8,614.64 from the challenge.
He is the founder of Bamford Watch Department and director of JC Bamford Excavators Ltd. The father-of-three, whose wife set up mybaba.com, had always wanted to do a fundraising effort like this for children’s charities.
Richard, who is MD of JCB dealer Watling JCB, and Fred raised more than £62,000 for Young Leicestershire, Mind and Wishes 4 Kids.
The cyclists were joined on the 10 legs of the journey by employees from JCB’s dealer network and JCB employees.
George said: “This has been a massive challenge and the support we have received along the way has been absolutely amazing.
“Having people join us on the various legs was like having a great big hand on our backs helping us up the hills along the way.
“I’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has given us support, worked behind the scenes and given us sponsorship for the charities.”
Suzanne Garbarino, clinical lead at Eden Valley Hospice and Jigsaw, said: “We’d like to thank George and his team for their incredible efforts which have raised more than £8,500 for Jigsaw.
“The fantastic amount raised during the challenge will ensure that our amazing staff can provide four days of respite care for up to five families who use Jigsaw’s services.
“Although this may seem small overall, to those families it is much needed time to rest and re-energise in dealing with what must be an unimaginably difficult situation.
“While we provide the parents with time to rest and spend quality time with other siblings, the children who stay with us experience fun and enriching activities maintaining their care routine in a home from home environment.”
