Bristol business raises £75,000 and counting

What could be better than a trip to sunny Croatia? Except there’s a 300km cycle challenge involved.

That’s how a brilliant bunch of fundraising heroes from MCS, Bristol-based building services provider, spent three days in September. The 30-strong team tested their pedal power across the Dalmatian Coast while raising over £75,000– just shy of their £85,000 target.

We spoke to Ryan, Director at MCS, about the experience and their plans to raise even more.

“We chose this cycle challenge because it felt a bit out of the ordinary. It was going to be difficult and training was absolutely necessary, but it was exciting. Especially being able to visit a foreign country – a place some people had never been.

Had we carried out enough training? What would happen if we couldn’t compete? Everyone was a bit apprehensive beforehand. We saddled up in the sun, knowing we were helping an amazing cause to spur us on.

It wasn’t all plain sailing. At some points – mainly the constant hills and steep inclines – we felt like we had no more to give. The camaraderie of my colleagues and the other participants gave us the extra boost we all needed. It was something special. Once you reached the top, you soon forgot all about the low moments.

Completing the challenge felt like the biggest achievement – we made it! Knowing our efforts can make children’s time at Bristol Children’s Hospital a little easier and give a helping hand to their families was great. It’s what we have been trying to achieve as a team and we’ve been overwhelmed with the amount of support we’ve received from our family, friends and colleagues.

We all know how important the children’s hospital is. Many of us are from Bristol – we’ve had plenty of visits to the hospital either as a child or taking our own. But what brought this closer to home was when an employee’s son was diagnosed with cancer.

Raising money for such a special place has allowed us to work together outside the workplace – it’s brought us a sense of togetherness. Our weekends and evenings were non-stop training. It meant colleagues could socialise with people that they might not see day-to-day.

Helen from The Grand Appeal was only ever an email or call away. She has been supportive throughout our fundraising – from visiting our office to giving us ideas, tips, and materials. We also received Grand Appeal cycling jerseys, which caught everyone’s eye.

Our efforts don’t stop here, we’ve got one more final fundraising push to reach our target.”

We’re lucky to have such dedicated corporate partners and can’t wait to see what MCS gets up to next! If you want to support this terrific team, visit their JustGiving page.