Bingo boss Ian Burke took on the largest timed bicycling event to raise money for some worthy causes. The causes are special to Mr. Burke and he certainly gave it his all to bring in the most amount of money that he could for the charities.
The event was a 109km race called the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour. This difficult race took the cyclists around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa on 109kms of tough cycling. The avid cyclist is not only the Rank Group Chief Executive but also a Spinning instructor which gave him the conditioning needed to get through the race. The money was raised for Whizz Kidz which is Mecca Bingo’s charity of the year.
The day of the race was marked by strong winds reaching over 100km per hour. In fact, the high winds made this the most difficult event that has been seen in twenty years according to the organisers of the race. Ian finished the race in only five hours, nineteen minutes and twenty nine seconds. This is put him in front of Matt Damon by just about ninety minutes. Yes, the movie star, Matt Damon.
Ian reports that the scenery along the race was spectacular and that it was five hours of fun for him. The winds were certainly adding to the difficulty of the race, but the temperature was perfect for a day of cycling. There were nine thousand entrants to the race that didn’t even start because of the difficulty of the winds.
Ian raised £21,000 in the race and expects that more will come in later. Thanking everyone for their support, he detailed how he plans to donate the money. With £16,000 of the money going right to Whizz-Kidz and the rest split among the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and St. John’s Hospice.
The bingo boss has stated that he was happy to have been able to compete and complete the race for Whizz Kidz and noted the great efforts of his Mecca Bingo colleagues during the previous year. The Mecca Bingo clubs all over the country have raised more than £286,000 in just 2008. They hope that 2009 sees an even bigger donation to the charity. Each bingo club that participates in the charity events for Whizz Kidz spends the money in their local area. They have already given mobility equipment to five children and there are more on the horizon.
The Chief Executive of Whizz Kidz, Ruth Owen, is pleased with the results of Mecca Bingo’s efforts. She congratulated Ian on his fabulous race and for raising such a spectacular amount of money for the charity.
The efforts of Mecca Bingo and Whizz Kidz are providing mobility equipment to children who previously had no opportunity to have the equipment before. Because of the efforts of this great charity, more young people are able to enjoy a much better quality of life.
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