The country’s largest rail wagon leaser, VTG Rail UK, has chosen West Midlands based Acorns Children’s Hospice as its charity of the year and to kick off the fundraising effort eight members of the team flew on a zip wire at over 100mph over the Wales countryside.
The group took to Velocity 2, at Zipworld, soaring over the Penrhyn Quarry for 1.5km raising £2,200 for the charity in the process.
Colin Denman, Managing Director of VTG Rail UK, said:
"I’m very proud of all my colleagues who took part in the zip wire challenge, which marked the beginning of our year of fundraising efforts for our chosen charity, the Acorn Children’s Hospice. This is a fantastic charity which provides a network of specialist palliative nursing care and support for babies, children and young people under the age of 18 who have been diagnosed with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions, as well as providing support to their families. I’d like to thank all our families, friends, customers and suppliers who sponsored our zip wire team enabling us to raise these funds for Acorns."
Acorns offers support from its three hospices in Worcester, Birmingham and Walsall, as well as in family homes and the community.
Emma Harewood, Partnerships Fundraising Officer at Acorns, said: “We wouldn’t be able to carry out our vital work without the generosity of local businesses and the community. In the past year we have cared for more than 700 children and almost 1,000 families, including those who are bereaved. It costs us £27,000 every day to provide our services, the bulk of which comes from fundraising. So, we are extremely grateful to VTG Rail UK for choosing to support our charity.”
VTG Rail UK Ltd is the UK's largest private wagon hire company with a fleet of over 4,000 wagons and is part of the VTG Group. Its headquarters is located in Birmingham.
For more information please contact Melanie Hill by email at Gravity PR mel@gravitypr.co.uk or call her on 07527 847423.