Many organisations from across the ECDP and wider industry gathered for a gala dinner at the Principal Hotel in York on 24 May in an effort to raise even more money for the Railway Children charity.
Ride the Route started off as a charity bike ride following the East Coast Mainline route, with the aim of bringing the rail industry together to achieve a common goal – to raise as much money as possible to help vulnerable children. Supported by Atkins, Siemens, PwC and Ramboll, the team cycled from York to London in September 2022 and raised a whopping £60,000.
But they didn’t want to stop there. To celebrate last year’s ride and create excitement for the upcoming ride this September, the team dreamed up the gala dinner, featuring a charity auction and the highlight of the night – a ceilidh! Friends and colleagues from across the industry dug deep into their pockets and put on their dancing shoes, all to raise as much as possible for an amazing cause. The gala dinner raised over £30,000, bringing the total of both events to £91,188. An incredible achievement!
Katie Mason, Events Manager at Railway Children, welcomed guests and explained how everyone’s kind donations will help the charity’s cause. Toufic Machnouk, Director of Industry Partnership for Digital Railway at Network Rail, also addressed the audience and thanked everyone for supporting the event and coming together in collaboration and celebration.
To thank all the supporters for their effort, Mark Fielding-Smith, National Services Director at Atkins, handed out framed cycling jerseys to colleagues from Atkins, Siemens, PwC, Ramboll, LNER and Network Rail, and we heard messages from the Yellow Jersey sponsors – Colette Carroll, Market Director for Strategic Rail at Atkins; and Ben Lane, Project Director at Siemens. Thank you to everyone who attended for your generosity, and we hope you had a wonderful evening.
Want to be first on the list for next year’s gala dinner, or are interested in sponsoring Ride the Route 2023? Sponsorship packages are now available for the Edinburgh to York ride taking place 7 – 9 September! Packages range from £5,000 – £25,000, so please get in touch at RideTheRoute@railwaychildren.org.uk to find out more and help us contribute to Railway Children’s vital work.
You can find out more about 2022’s Ride the Route bike ride here.
