Ashfords staff complete five-day cycle marathon for charity

Scores of Ashfords' solicitors swapped their briefs for cycling shorts to support a five-day cycling marathon in aid of their chosen charity, Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust.  
    
More than 120 members of staff took part in a cyclathon on static bikes and managed to achieve a total of 1,678 miles between them -  the equivalent of cycling from Exeter to Casablanca!

Staff from the firm's Exeter, Bristol, Taunton and London offices rode bikes placed in their receptions in half-hour intervals over a week to raise awareness of cervical cancer and the work undertaken by Jo’s Trust, the only UK charity dedicated to women and their families affected by cervical cancer and cervical abnormalities.

The ever-cautious lawyers' original target was 1,000 miles but after an extraordinary effort early on in the week, when 455 miles were cycled in a single day, organisers called on their teams to go the extra mile and smash the target.
 
Partner Liz Gibson, who leads the firm's corporate social responsibility strategy said:  "Our main objective was to raise awareness of cervical cancer to our staff, visitors and clients.  This was a tremendously successful campaign which as an added bonus saw more than £500 raised from donations from people passing through our receptions."

The highlight of the week was a battle between two of the firm's cycling-fanatic partners, Tim Heal and Andy Perkins, who went head-to-head in a race to cycle as many miles as they could in an hour. The duo managed over 50 miles between them.   

Liz added:  “It was really rewarding to watch the whole of Ashfords pull together and do something a bit different to raise awareness of cervical cancer and of the great work done by Jo's Trust. The event took on a life of its own and we are very proud to have been able to support our charity of the year in this way."

Ashfords has a year-long programme of events in place to support Jo's Trust, including a Naked Ladies Swap Shop in the spring and an Apprentice-style challenge, involving the firm’s trainees, later in the year.

To make a donation to Jo's Trust, please visit www.justgiving.com/Ashfords-Solicitors