Thameslink and Great Northern staff get on their bikes (and much more) for charity

Staff from across the Thameslink and Great Northern rail networks have raised over £2,300 in seven days for Luton-based Keech Hospice Care, the staff’s own choice as the company’s good cause. The charity supports adults and children with life-limiting illnesses.

Staff got involved in a host of activities during National Small Charities Week to raise this donation. Their week began with a successful bake sale at the company's head office in the City of London. Next day the two brands took each other on in a ‘cycle the distance’ challenge to see who could cycle the furthest on an exercise bike and collect the most donations from passengers across the three-hour evening peak.

The challenge was hotly contested (as well as being genuinely hot, owing to the weather) with much support for each network. Although the Great Northern team at Hitchin had three times the number of volunteers, the Thameslink group at Luton emerged victorious with a total distance of 107 kilometres.

Other events across the week included a raffle, a pub quiz, and ‘guess the number of lollies in a jar’, alongside the company donation of 10p for every train arriving within a minute of its scheduled timetable. A 5-a-side football tournament rounded off the fun.

Charles Horton, CEO of Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), operator of Thameslink and Great Northern, said: "At GTR, we are committed to supporting local charities across our network. Keech Hospice Care is a cause that our staff are passionate about and it's wonderful to see so many of them go out of their way to help raise much-needed funds. A donation of over £2,300 is an excellent result for the hard work of our teams and I would also like to pass on my thanks to everyone who volunteered their own time to help raise this money."

Caron Hooper, Corporate Fundraiser at Keech Hospice Care, said: “As one of only a small number of hospices in the UK that supports both adult and child patients, we care for children across Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Milton Keynes who have terminal and life-limiting conditions, for their parents and siblings, and adults in Luton and South Bedfordshire who need our support. With Thameslink and Great Northern’s amazing support we can continue to make the difference when it matters the most.”

Keech Hospice Care was chosen by staff as the company's corporate charity as part of a recent employee survey, in recognition of all the support they provide across our network. Since then, staff and the company have come up with a variety of ways to support the cause and so far raised almost £10,000 for the hospice, which relies on the community to raise 70 per cent of the £5.6 million it needs as a charity to survive.

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Thameslink and Great Northern press office: 0203 750 2031