PA 192/14
A charity bike ride organised by The University of Nottingham has already raised nearly £470,000 of its £500,000 target thanks to the generous contribution of a number of major donors.
Each year for the past three years, a team of volunteers from the University, led by the Vice-Chancellor, have taken on a major cycling challenge in support of a good cause.
Now in its fourth year, the team are back in the saddle and are cycling in support of the University’s Children’s Brain Tumour Research Centre (CBTRC), with each cyclist riding in honour of a patient who has battled the disease.
Generous donations
The ambitious fundraising goal of £500k was set earlier this year, and with the ride not set to start until August, the team are already very close to exceeding their target. The total raised has been significantly boosted thanks to number of large donations made ahead of this year’s challenge, which is a route of more than 1,400 miles taking in the four corners of Great Britain.
The fundraising was kicked off by a donation of £150k from the Brain Tumour Charity. Companies have also joined in with significant contributions including Boots, MaxiNutrition, the UK and Europe’s leading sports nutrition brand, Campus Living Villages, UPP (a student accommodation provider) and Simon Jersey, along with many generous donations from alumni and friends of the University.
Given the overwhelming response to the fundraising so far, the University has now increased the target to £750k in order to provide additional seed corn funding for the next generation of breakthrough research projects to understand and treat children’s brain tumours.
A fitting legacy
Professor Sir David Greenaway, Vice-Chancellor of The University of Nottingham, is getting in the saddle for the fourth consecutive year.
Sir David said: “This year I am riding in honour of a remarkable young man, Sam White, who sadly lost his life to a brain tumour. I am thrilled that so many have joined in creating a fitting legacy for him and the other families who are battling this terrible disease. I hope their bravery will inspire further support to help us meet our ambitious new target and give the children who suffer a brain tumour the very best chance of successful treatment, “
The team leave Land’s End on the 14th August 2014 and ride via Dover and Durness to arrive at John O’Groats on 30th August 2014.
Members of the public can lend their support by taking in sponsored rides ranging from 6.5 miles to 75 miles from the 31st August. For more information and to hear Sam’s story – visit the Life Cycle 4 website.
An early bird discount is available on entry fees until 14th July
— Ends —
Our academics can now be interviewed for broadcast via our new Globelynx fixed camera facility at the University. For further information please contact a member of the Communications team on +44 (0)115 951 5798, email mediahub@nottingham.ac.uk or see the Globelynx website for how to register for this service.
For up to the minute media alerts follow us on Twitter
Notes to editors: The University of Nottinghamhas 43,000 students and is ‘the nearest Britain has to a truly global university, with campuses in China and Malaysia modelled on a headquarters that is among the most attractive in Britain’ (Times Good University Guide 2014). It is also the most popular university among graduate employers, the world’s greenest university, and winner of the Times Higher Education Award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Sustainable Development’. It is ranked in the World's Top 75 universities by the QS World University Rankings.
Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, its biggest-ever fundraising campaign, is delivering the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future. More news…