Workers get on their bikes for charity

Aberdeen, Scotland. 31st May, 2016.  Stewart Milne Group is donating £20,000 to the Archie Foundation following a charity cycle.  (Photo: Ross Johnston/Newsline Media)
Gary Milne and Aileen Beverly (bike4forty cyclists), patient Katlin Herd, Joe Morris (bike4forty cyclist) and David Cunningham, ARCHIE Foundation chief executive

EIGHT staff members from Stewart Milne Group have raised a whopping £60,000 for charity after completing a 738-mile cycle challenge.

The ‘bike4forty’ team cycled from Manchester to Aberdeen as part of the group’s 40th anniversary celebrations, raising cash in the process for the ARCHIE Foundation, Beatson Cancer Charity and the Christie Cancer Charity.

The team consisted of Aileen Beverly and Joe Morris from Aberdeen, Gary Milne and Alan Sneddon from Edinburgh, Niall Campbell, Patrick Gardiner and Stuart Henderson from Glasgow and Manchester-based Stephen Daintith.

Gary Milne said, “The bike4forty challenge was an incredible experience for us and the whole time we were focused on completing the cycle to raise money for these fantastic charities. We are absolutely overwhelmed by the generosity of everyone who sponsored us and we are thrilled to have smashed our fundraising target. Handing over the money to three such deserving causes is truly humbling for us as we have all seen first-hand what an incredible service they offer.”

Claire Bush, head of fundraising for the ARCHIE Foundation, said, “The riders were brilliant, covering that distance right on schedule and raising such an amazing amount of money for charity. We are extremely grateful to everybody involved.”

The ARCHIE Foundation makes a difference to the healthcare of more than 175,000 sick children across the north of Scotland with things like buying specialist equipment, supporting families, funding research and responding in emergencies.

A number of companies provided corporate sponsorship to support the bike4forty team including Encon, Morton Fraser, Burness Paull, NHBC, SMEG UK, WA Fairhurst, Future Factory, Extended Mind and Eclipse Planning.