Employees from Cranswick Country Foods set off on their bikes from the Preston, Hull site travelling to the Cranswick Norfolk site last month and raised a fantastic £10,000 for Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
The first annual Flying Pigs Charity Bike Ride saw 15 employees complete the 136 miles between the two Cranswick sites in one day – the first finishing in 7 hours and 45 mins and the last man completing in 16 hours and 30 mins.
Last week the Yorkshire Air Ambulance landed at the Cranswick Country Foods head office on the outskirts of Preston to collect the money from the Cranswick staff and other fundraising cheques from community groups in Holderness.
Chris Aldersley, Managing Director – Fresh Pork, completed the ride in 10 hours 28 minutes, he commented:
“It was a real team effort and although we are all keen cyclists, this was a long route to undertake. We were delighted to reach the finishing line and have so many generous supporters sponsoring our efforts.
“Supporting local charities is important to us at Cranswick, we are proud to be a part of this region – we invest heavily in jobs and facilities, but it remains important to us to give charitable support and we are delighted to be able to donate this amount to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, who serve us all.”
On receiving the £10,000 cheque, Bob Smailes, Regional Fundraising Manager for Yorkshire Air Ambulance, said: “This is a phenomenal amount to raise – a really superb effort by everyone involved at Cranswick. To be supported by all levels of employees from across the business is real testament to their charity effort for us.
“This money will go directly towards helping run the Yorkshire Air Ambulances and saving lives on the ground. We are very grateful to everyone’s generosity, not only in the time given to do the bike ride, but also to the sponsorships of the riders. Their achievements will make a real difference to us – thank
you.”
Darren Axe, Clinical Supervisor and Air Crew Paramedic, on board the Air Ambulance, added: “It costs £3,600,000 every year to run the service and this huge donation is very gratefully received by us all at Yorkshire Air Ambulance.”