It's been just over a week since our cyclists pedalled over the finish line of our second annual Tour De TCH where our team covered an incredible 223.5 miles over three days to raise money for The Samaritans charity.
Thanks to the support of everyone who cycled, baked, volunteered and donated we have managed to smash our original goal of £2,750 and have raised £3,381 (so far) for The Samaritans.
Last year's Tour saw the Group raise funds for the British Heart Foundation and after that event's success, we decided to hold the Tour De TCH annually. This year we raised money for The Samaritans, a charity whose purpose is to provide emotional support to anyone in distress, struggling to cope, or at risk of suicide.
The charity operates through 201 branches nationwide and has 20,000 trained volunteers on hand to take calls and provide support. In 2017 alone over 6,300 people took their own lives and The Samaritans rely on the public raising money and donating to support their work.
This year, 25 members of staff and directors from the TCH Group took part in the ride and covered 223.5 miles, cycling across the country to each of our TCH JCB Depots, TCH Ford Dealerships and our TCH Leasing office.
Several TCH employees volunteer for The Samaritans charity but most notably, David Matthews, the brother of a member of our team, has volunteered for the charity for over 10 years and has recently set out on a 6,000-mile walk where he is calling in and completing a shift at all 201 Samaritan branches throughout the UK and Ireland over the next two years.
We are so inspired by David's efforts that we have been welcoming him into our dealerships and depots along his journey, keeping him fed and watered on his way.
You can find out more about David and The Listening Walk here.
There's still time to donate to support the Samaritans too, you can find out more and contribute on our JustGiving page.