Collen Charity Cycle 2021 - 'Around the World in 8 Days'

Collen Charity Cycle 2021

Collen are pleased to announce that arrangements for the 6th Annual Collen Charity Cycle are underway. While sporting events such as Great Dublin Bike Ride is still not possible to participate in due to the current pandemic, we do have good news to share: Collen Charity Cycle event will run again this September as a unique cycle challenge and leisure combination! This year we are raising the bar and calling on everyone to take part in the exceptional challenge to cycle Around the World in 8 Days; a combined distance of 40,075km. We know the target distance for this year’s cycle challenge is off the Richter-scale but we also know what can be accomplished when we join together toward a common goal. So, here we are, ready to take on a world challenge, calling on you to sign up and invite your family and friends to join us in our mission to Cycle Around the World in 8 Days.

Collen Charity Cycle

Collen has a long and proud tradition of supporting the local community and is delighted to get involved in several projects which help raise awareness and funds for local charities. Over the last 5 years, Collen Charity Cycle has been a great success in contributing towards employee wellbeing and raising funds in support of the local communities across which Collen operates. We are immensely proud of the funds raised to date for our charities and for the positive energy generated by the participants around this charitable event.

Collen’s participation in charity cycle events was born out of conversations between staff members who shared a common love of cycling and the outdoors. Collen, who are an 8th generation family owned company established in 1810 and based in East Wall, Dublin 3 since 1890, pride themselves on balancing company interests with those of its employees and the wider community. An interest was expressed by some Collen employees, who would cycle regularly, to go out as a social get together in their spare time or take part in an organised cycling sportive. However, that idea quickly evolved from being a handful of keen experienced cyclists to a larger number of enthusiastic employees who had not cycled in years but had a desire to get back out on the saddle. It was clear that people wanted a personal fitness challenge too.

As part of Collen’s ongoing commitment to improving employee well-being at work, the Company was pleased to support the events.

Collen Charity Cycle team have participated for 4 years running in the Great Dublin Bike Ride. Staff were encouraged to fundraise for their own participation and coupled with the funds left over from the sponsors, Collen were able to engage with the local community where allproceeds raised were in aid of local charities: Aoibhneas (Women and Children refuge), Sean O Casey Community Centre (East Wall Youth,Senior Citizens, and Men’s Shed) and The Light House (Homeless Support Centre). In 2019 Collen Charity Cycle team took on a further challenge and cycled 200km from Dublin – Galway in support of Men’s Mental Health. This is no different for its European operations. In 2018 Collen presented funds raised in a charity cycle undertaken by the project team to two local charities in Sweden: Sormlands Vastmanlands & Västerås Stadsmission (Women at Risk and Homelessness Support Service). In 2019 the Collen team in Sweden completed another charity cycle in support of two local charities: Västerås Stadsmission (Women at Risk and Homelessness Support Service) & KF Heros (Para-Athletics). Collen project team in Frankfurt participated in last year’s cycle in support of local charity in Frankfurt: Hilfe für krebskranke Kinder Frankfurt (Children & Young Adults Cancer Support Service) A massive thank you goes to the Sponsors and everyone who helped raise funds for the local communities.

Last year, the Covid-19 outbreak posed unprecedented challenges for charities and in doing so has presented new innovative opportunities. An exciting new 2020 instalment of the Collen Annual Charity Cycle was born bringing Collen project teams in Ireland, Germany and Sweden together to collectively cycle the distance from North to South Pole covering a combined distance of 20,020km. It received a phenomenal response on a Global scale with over 260+ participants from Ireland, UK, Germany, Sweden, Crete, UAE, Italy, Hong Kong, and the USA. The team, made up of Collen employees, friends, family, clients, subcontractors, and extended supply chain, revealed what can be achieved with a shared vision. The target goal was reached and beyond, clocking up a staggering 25,562km and raising an incredible €61,000 in support of 14 charities within the local communities in which Collen operates.

Collen Charity Cycle ‘Around the World in 8 Days’

The Covid-19 pandemic has touched all our lives and has called on a united international response to fight the spread of the virus. Collen’s charity cycle initiative is symbolic, in that no matter the challenge we will join together – while apart – calling on solidarity and community action as we begin to rebuild and create a more healthier and resilient society together. Collen employees, friends, family, clients, subcontractors, and extended supply chain, will collectively cycle the around the world, covering a combined distance of 40,075km in 8 days. We call on you to sign up, pledge your cycle distance and start training for the event of the year!

In recent years cycling has become more than a leisure activity and is now a travel plan promoting alternative forms of transport in support of mental health, wellbeing and environmental sustainability. This event emphasises the importance of healthy choices and raises awareness of the benefits physical activity has towards mental health and well-being, by promoting cycling to work and to local amenities for one week, encouraging cycling as a daily activity over the course of 8 days.

Fundraising:

We are immensely proud of what has been achieved in the 5 years, both for the much-needed funds raised for worthy causes and for the positive buzz created within the company when the cycle events roll round each year.

This fundraiser is in support of the local communities in which Collen operates, and proceeds are in aid of local charities in Ireland, Germany and Sweden listed below. We wish to extend our gratitude to this year’s sponsors, whose generosity and support will have such a positive effect on these charities . All our charity representatives have expressed their deepest gratitude to those involved:

1) Sean O Casey Community Centre (Youth & Senior Citizen Support Service)

2) St Joseph's Primary School

3) Aoibhneas (Women & Children Refuge Centre)

4) The Light House (Homeless Support Service)

5) Inner City Helping Homeless

6) CROI (Heart Disease & Stroke Support)

7) See Change and Shine (Ending Mental Health Stigma and Mental Health Frontline Support)

8) Strange Boat Donor Foundation (Circle of Life, Commemorative Garden)

9) The Forget-Me-Nots Choir (Community Choir particularly for those affected by dementia & memory loss)

10) St. Vincent's Foundation (St Anne's Unit, St Vincent's Hospital)

11) The Light House Club (Well-being Support within the Construction Industry)

12) Pieta House (Mental Health Support Service)

13) Temple Street Children's Hospital

14) Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust

15) KF Heros Sweden (Para-Athletics)

16) Västerås stadsmission (Women at Risk and Homelessness Support Service)

17) Hilfe für krebskranke Kinder Frankfurt (Children & Young Adults Cancer Support Service)

If you have any queries please contact the Collen Cycle Committee by email: charitycycle@collen.com