We’re very grateful to Matthew Kirby, co-founder of the wonderful Arctic One Foundation, who will be undertaking a tough cycle ride to raise funds jointly for the DBF and The Arctic One Foundation. The challenge, and it certainly will be a challenge, will start on the 8th June and Matthew and Fred hope to complete the ride in a week.
You can read Matthew’s report below and, beneath the post, there will be links to his Fundraising Page and the Arctic One Foundation where you can find out more about this fantastic charity which does so much to “get people of all abilities Involved and Active in the Community and introduce them to new opportunities in Sport. Also to increase the awareness of the benefits of sport in preventing and treating cancer related disease in association with other Charities.”
We believe that everyone has the ability to enjoy sport in some way and that everyone should be given the opportunity to take part in sport. Arctic One Foundation
On 8th June Fred Baxter and I are planning to cycle from Central London to the top of the famous French Alp’s climb L’Alpe d’ Heuz. The ride will be a total of 808km and we will hopefully reach the summit around 15th June 2018.
We plan to start at the Tower of London and ride to Newhaven to catch the ferry to Dieppe. From there we will cycle through Northern France via Troyes, Dijon and Grenoble to reach the foot of The Alpe d’ Heuz. The Climb itself is 1100m, 13km long with 21 hairpin bends to reach the ski resort at the summit.
We are raising funds for The Arctic One Foundation and The Douglas Bader Foundation and as the ride is self funded, we can guarantee that 100% of the donation will go to the two Charities.
I co-founded The Arctic One Foundation (www.Arctic1.co.uk) in 2011 and it became a registered Charity in 2012. It was set up to provide opportunities to both able bodied and disabled people to get involved in Sport and se felt that a Charity would enable us to guarantee that any funding was spent on people who needed it!
Arctic One runs mass participation events including two paratriathlons at Dorney Lake and a Junior Para Triathlon which is now in its 6th year. Our ‘Forward Motion’ Grants System which has helped over 130 Para Athletes from 23 different sports from complete beginners to Paralympic Champions with their involvement in sport such as competition fees, training and equipment. We have also helped athletes with complete prosthetics costing between £5000 and £12000.
100% of your donation to Arctic One will go to our ‘Forward Motion’ Grant System to help more people with opportunities to get involved in sport.
The Douglas Bader Foundation exists to advance and promote the physical, mental and spiritual welfare of persons who are born without or have lost one or more limbs, or otherwise physically disabled.
They achieve this through giving advice via Bader Information, or helping out financially through Bader Grants. The Bader Braves programme offers children experiences that help build confidence and encourage team work and participation. The DBF have been a huge supporter to Arctic One since we began and I am keen to support them in return to enable both charities to help more people.
Thank You
Matthew Kirby
The Arctic One Foundation
Useful Links: (all links will open in new tabs)
The Arctic One Foundation Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Arcticonefoundation/
The Arctic One Website: http://arctic1.co.uk
We’re sure you’ll join us in wishing Matthew and Fred success with this challenge. We’re so grateful to them for their efforts on behalf of the Douglas Bader Foundation. If you’d like to donate to their fundraising cycle ride and support for two great causes in the process, please follow the link below to Matthew’s Fundraising Page:
Matthew Kirby’s Virgin Money Giving Fundraising Page : https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-display/showROFundraiserPage?userUrl=ArcticOneprojects&pageUrl=6