(Ranger) Dave Bowen - sponsorship appeal

PLEASE !! PLEASE !! PLEASE !! SPONSOR ME 

 

Dear Friends and Family,

 

I will be cycling across Scotland from 19th - 21st May with 80 cyclists and one purpose - to raise £163,000 for four charities and thus reach the incredible cumulative target of £1 million pounds over the 8 annual rides to date. It is a tough ride this year with a much higher number of cyclists in taking two equally challenging routes from the West Coast and finishing 260 miles later in Aberdeen. The ride will take 3 days; there will be challenging climbs, fatigue and saddle sores, not to mention the challenges of the Scottish weather!

 

This year donations will be equally split amongst 4 very deserving charities. 

·         MND Scotland, which funds research and provides support for sufferers of Motor Neuron Disease, an awful disease that slowly but very surely kills the nervous system and therefore control of the muscles that keep us mobile and alive.  This disease shortened the life of our good friend, and my elder brother,  Ian Bowen. This year we support Lucy’s Fight. At 19, Lucy Lintott was the youngest person in Scotland to be diagnosed with MND and her ongoing fight is inspiring.

·         Charlie House is a new, Aberdeen based charity supporting children with complex disabilities and life-limiting conditions, through a Saturday Club, Activity Short Breaks and Information for parent carers.

·         Home Start recruits and trains volunteers in Aberdeen (usually parents themselves) to give informal emotional and practical support to families who are struggling to deal with family life for a wide range of reasons including ill health, domestic violence or substance misuse.

·         Support in Mind Scotland provides social networks, friendship and social contact to 2,000 people a year across Scotland who suffer from mental illness. This seeks to enhance confidence, social skills and self-esteem to support employability and enhance physical health and wellbeing through a variety of means such as arts, walking groups, cookery and diet management.

Your contributions make a tremendous difference.  They will be matched by BP and we use Virgin Money, a charitable organisation which does not charge fundraisers and their sponsors to use their website.  Your contribution can be increased further still if you are UK Taxpayer.  Note: each £100 of sponsorship money raised can be worth as much as ~ £225 to the charity, with Gift Aid and BP matching. If you are a higher rate UK tax payer, it would only cost you £80 - so the gift represents 280% of your cost. Not a bad return!

 

Donations can be made by simply following the instructions on the Virgin Money Giving website (please mark “sponsor the team as a whole” rather than an individual).  http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/c2c_8

 

We have had fantastic support over the past seven years and it would be wonderful if we could achieve similar levels on behalf of these very worthwhile causes

So - PLEASE !! PLEASE !! PLEASE !! Inspire me to ride the +/- 85 miles per day by sponsoring me using the virgin money giving website - address above .

THANK YOU ALL in advance !!

David Bowen