Ashfords staff go the extra mile - or 500 - for charity

Staff at Ashfords Solicitors are going the extra 500 miles for Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust. Having completed a challenge to cycle 1,000 miles in a week two days early, staff are now racing to smash the 1,500 mile barrier by tomorrow evening - Wednesday 30 January - to raise awareness of cervical cancer.

As many as 120 Ashfords people signed up for the cycling challenge, which is being completed on static exercise bikes placed in Ashfords' offices across the region in support of their charity of the year.

Andy Perkins, Commercial Litigation Partner and Tim Heal, Head of Commercial Property,  swapped their briefs for state of the art static racing bikes in an hour long head-to-head challenge on Friday at the firm's Exeter headquarters. The pair notched up nearly 60 miles between them.

Staff held a sweepstake on the miles Andy and Tim would cover to raise extra donations for the charity, and more than £100 was raised in just an hour.

“Our people put forward suggestions for Ashfords' charity of the year and Jo's Trust was a very popular winner. One of our Solicitors in the Bristol office lost a family member to cervical cancer and so this is a charity that has
quickly become close to our hearts," said Elizabeth Gibson, who leads the firm's Corporate Social Responsibility strategy.

Other events planned for this year to raise money for, and awareness of cervical cancer and Jo’s Trust, include an Apprentice-style challenge involving the firm’s trainees and various corporate sporting events.

Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust is the only UK charity dedicated to women and their families affected by cervical cancer and cervical abnormalities.

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