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News Desk
Antony Jenkins and Duncan Bannatyne congratulate riders for raising vital UNICEF funding A team of 30 Barclays lawyers and 18 of their suppliers arrived in London today, successfully completing a five day, 450 mile cycle journey from Edinburgh.
The team were joined by professional cyclist Cameron Fraser from team La Fuga who completed the entire journey on a Barclays Cycle Hire bike.
As the party arrived at the finish line outside the Barclays Piccadilly branch they received confirmation that they have smashed their £200,000 fundraising target.
Together they have raised a staggering £130,000 for UNICEF’s measles immunisation programme in Africa to help save lives, with a further £130,000 of matched funding by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The £260,000 total means at least 160,000 children will be immunised against measles as a result of this ride.
In addition to raising a huge amount of money, the team also want to encourage members of the public to join them in doing something big for UNICEF by participating with them, Barclays, UNICEF and Heart radio’s charity, Have a Heart, on the Step into the Night sponsored walk taking place in London on 21 September.
Antony Jenkins, Chief Executive of Barclays Retail and Business Banking, said:
“I am continually impressed by the passion and enthusiasm Barclays colleagues show in playing an active role in the community. Barclays encourages colleagues to be a force for good in society as part of our Citizenship agenda and last year we supported over 15,000 colleagues to raise £18m through our matched fundraising programme. UNICEF is one of Barclays global charity partners and it is fantastic to see the Legal and Compliance team working in partnership with them to raise money that will benefit thousands of children all around the world.”
Shane Hawkins, Chief of Staff for Barclays Retail and Business Banking legal team, who is leading the event, said: “Barclays has a strong and successful partnership with UNICEF and we decided we wanted to do something more for the charity. We were also inspired by the GAVI alliance, which led us to choosing child immunisation as the specific fundraising cause. We have had an amazing journey and were thrilled to have Cameron Fraser join us on a Barclays Cycle Hire bike, and we want people to know that they can do something just as worthwhile for UNICEF by taking part in the Step into the Night walk on September 21.”
UNICEF UK Ambassador, Duncan Bannatyne, said: “Well done to the ‘Wheels For Change’ cyclists whose amazing challenge has raised over £100,000 for UNICEF’s vital measles immunisation programme. These cyclists have helped UNICEF to transform the lives of 160,000 children. Everyone can help support UNICEF, by doing something equally amazing but less strenuous, by taking part in the next “Step into the Night” walk in London on the 21st September. Visit www.unicef.org.uk/step for more details.”
The group, which includes lawyers from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Simmons & Simmons, Addleshaw Goddard, DLA Piper, and Latham and Watkins, set off from Edinburgh on 1 September at 9am, and finished the journey at the bank’s flagship Piccadilly branch in London on 5 September, where they were welcomed home by Barclays senior executives Antony Jenkins, Deanna Oppenheimer, Mark Harding and Peter Estlin.
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