Employees at major housebuilder cycle 100 miles to raise over £3,000 for children’s charity

Staff at Barratt Developments North East swapped their usual office chairs for bike seats as they completed a 100-mile cycle route and raised over £1,500 for local children’s charity, Team Evie, beating their target of £1,000.

Five members from the North East division’s Technical Team cycled the 100 mile route from its most southerly development, The Orchard at West Park in Darlington, up to its most north development, South Fields in Morpeth, and raised a total of £1,500 for its Charity of the Year, Team Evie. This will be match-funded by the housebuilder through its Barratt Foundation, meaning that Team Evie will receive £3,000. 

Set up by Evie’s parents, Team Evie is a charity dedicated to helping sick children and their families across the North East and West Cumbria through challenging times. The charity provides a range of invaluable support to families on the hospital wards, such as those at Great North Children’s Hospital in Newcastle and Queen Elizabeth Hospital Gateshead, giving out ‘parent bags’ for families miles from home. In addition, Team Evie provides medical equipment, physiotherapy equipment, comfort items, sensory toys and portable libraries to the wards to help families through each tough journey of having a sick child.

The 100-mile bike ride comes as part of the leading housebuilder’s continued support over the past year for Team Evie, which has seen previous fundraising with the likes of show home furniture auctions, ‘Wear it Green’ days in the office, wreath-making events and book donations at Christmas. 

Greg Johnston, Evie’s father and Chief Executive at Team Evie, commented: “We’re so grateful to the incredible effort and time put in by the Technical Team to cycle 100 miles. Every bit counts and it’s the generosity of our donors that enables us to help sick children and their families. We’re overjoyed to be supported by Barratt Developments North East and it’s amazing to see such a reputable organisation pledge its support to us as its Charity of the Year.”

Chris Blair, Senior Technical Coordinator at Barratt Developments North East, added: “We had a great time cycling together as a team in the name of charity, and I’d like to thank everybody who donated, as well as Laura Swinden and Jill King for their support on the day. It was a hugely rewarding challenge and we’re so happy that we’ve been able to add a further £3,000 to Team Evie’s pot, and they are an incredible charity that does amazing things for families facing extremely tough circumstances.”