​Helping Hand, the non-profit organisation run by a committee of Leyland Trucks and PACCAR Parts employees, has announced a programme of large-scale challenges as part of its #StrongerTogether fundraising event, with the goal of raising £20,000 for local cancer charities.
 
The organisation has stepped up its charitable commitments in 2021 to commemorate Leyland Trucks’ 125th anniversary, and to combat the impact of the pandemic on charities in the area.
 
Usually part of Leyland Festival, Helping Hand’s annual fundraising event has been extended for 2021 to span 7 weeks, from 11th July to 31st August, with the bumper #StrongerTogether event packed with fundraising initiatives big and small.
                                                                                                                               
Marking 125 years in business for Leyland Trucks, a truck pull will see teams compete to heave an XF vehicle over a 125-foot course; a 12.5k running and walking event will take place within the Leyland area; and a 125 mile in a day cycling challenge will cover the lanes of North Lancashire.
 
Meanwhile, doggy walks, half marathons, golf challenges, cycle routes that tackle some of Lancashire’s most notorious climbs and descents, and a team of walkers, cyclists, golfers, runners, triathletes and more, will work to collectively turn their miles into money.
 
Every penny raised during the #StrongerTogether event will be donated to St Catherine’s Hospice, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Rosemere Cancer Foundation and Macmillan Cancer Support. Cancer charities, like so many worthy causes, have seen a devastating drop in funding due to COVID-19, but the latest stats state that half of people born after 1960 will be diagnosed with some form of cancer during their lifetime.
 
Phil Jones at Helping Hand, says: “It's no secret that the pandemic has impacted those most vulnerable, with COVID-19 causing delays in treatment – which can be potentially devastating for those suffering from cancer. Everyone deserves to access the support they need when they need it, and the charities we’re fundraising for are there for people during times of significant hardship.
 
“Just like last year’s event, we’re expecting a spectacular few weeks of fundraising as the Leyland Trucks team, together with their families and friends, once again lace up or saddle up to collectively cover as many miles as physically – and inclusively! – as possible.
“Whatever social restrictions remain in place this summer, our social value agenda will never be placed on pause. Whilst we may not quite be ready for our usual Factory to Festival bike ride to take to the streets once again, we have decided to launch #StrongerTogether, which so aptly coincides with our 125th birthday milestone!
 
“COVID has taught us all that we’re stronger together, and that’s exactly what this mission represents. We’re looking forward to working as a team to provide much needed support to people and charities in real need. Together we can make a real difference for friends and loved ones within our community who are affected by cancer.”
 
Helping Hand was founded in 1994 by a group of enthusiastic Leyland Trucks and PACCAR PARTS workers who wanted to help disadvantaged employees and local causes. To-date, the charity has raised over £1 million to date.
 
Emma Jacovelli, head of community engagement at St Catherine’s Hospice, said: “Leyland Trucks has been an incredible supporter of St Catherine’s for many years, and we feel proud and privileged to team up once again with this respected local firm in its 125th birthday year.
 
“We very much echo the sentiment that we are #StrongerTogether. We have seen so much teamwork, community spirit and fantastic support for our cause throughout the pandemic, which we are truly grateful for.
 
“We are still facing significant challenges and feeling the impact of the pandemic on our fundraising efforts, and whilst we are delighted that some of our events and activities can resume – such as the gradual re-opening of The Mill café and our charity shops – we are depending on the backing of our community more than ever to see us through this next chapter.
 
“We can’t wait to find out what everyone has planned, and we’d like to say a very heartfelt ‘thank you’ to Leyland Trucks for once again going the extra mile for our hospice, helping us to care for local people and support local families to have quality of life, to the end of life.”
 
Dan Hill, Rosemere Cancer Foundation’s chief officer, said: “We are immensely grateful to everyone at Leyland Trucks for the support its Helping Hand charity has given us over the years. Its donations to us now total over £30,000 and have been put towards a variety of great projects, which have benefitted hundreds and hundreds of cancer patients from throughout Lancashire and South Cumbria.
 
“We were especially grateful to be among the charities benefitting from its 2020 Factory to Festival Miles Better Together event, which went ahead despite all the coronavirus lockdowns and restrictions. Last year was a terrible year for us as our income tumbled with all our own and many of our supporters’ fundraising events having to be cancelled. To receive a grant of £1,000 in the midst of it was like a glimmer of hope.”

The 2nd Annual Golf Day at Leyland Golf Club with all teams competing for the newly named ‘Gerald Harwood’ Trophy, named after an ex Leyland Trucks employee who was an avid golfer and competed in the competition last year.
 
The weather was a complete washout, but the level of commitment from the teams playing in the rain was amazing.  We had 14 teams start and 7 finish.
 
Of that 7, the winning team was The Striped Pig with a brilliant individual performance from Will Walne. Gerald’s wife Doris and son Andrew were there to present the trophy to the winners.
 
We raised over £2000 and that will go directly to local Charities.

More than 110 novice riders and cycling enthusiasts from Leyland Trucks raised in excess of £16,000 for St Catherine’s Hospice and a number of other Lancashire charities, after covering a combined 8,000 miles in their 2019 Factory to Festival challenge.
This year’s annual event saw riders take on one of three routes - 30, 80 and 115 miles - in tough weather conditions, with the more challenging routes covering some notorious climbs and descents throughout the Lancashire countryside and beyond.
Starting at Leyland Trucks’ advanced manufacturing facility, the charity bike ride finished at Worden Park, which played host to this year’s Leyland Festival event and attracted more than 10,000 visitors throughout the day.
Cyclist and Leyland Trucks prototype manager, Stuart Derbyshire, age 53, explains: “There were a few times where I stopped cycling and I dashed under a tree to escape the downpour, but we all got back safely with a few stories to tell.
“I’ve lost friends too soon in life and that motivated me right to the end. I’m a Wiganer, but I’ve worked in Leyland for 37 years and wanted to give back. St Catherine’s has looked after colleagues of mine and are part of the community, so anything that we can do to give back is really positive.”
As a household name in Lancashire and one of Britain’s most well-known manufacturers, Leyland Trucks’ Helping Hand has to-date raised more than £1million for local causes. Its charity committee ensures each donation creates a positive legacy and works to safeguard the crucial services that support local people. 
Matt Kersey, chairman of the Helping Hand Committee at Leyland Trucks, added: “Our first bike ride was just 11 people, so to see more than 100 riders saddle up this year was truly inspiring.
“I want to thank all our riders, who because of their hard work, dedication and lots of training, together with the incredibly kind donations from our sponsors, raised more than £16,000. We donated £12,000 of the total raised to St Catherine’s Hospice, with the remaining being split between a number of other good local charities and causes, including Tender Nursing Care.
“Our entire workforce and much of Lancashire feels a close affinity to St Catherine’s, which shows with the record turnout. We’re proud to have a workforce that rallies together and supports one another, and we’re looking forward to an even bigger turnout next year.”
Norman Cutler, senior community engagement officer from St Catherine’s Hospice, concluded: “From everyone at St Catherine’s, we want to say a huge thank you to those who took part in the Factory to Festival challenge and to all those who have sponsored and helped to raise such an incredible amount of money.
“It costs £5.6million each year to run our services and we must raise £3.8million of that from fundraising events like these. We’ve a total of 19 beds within the hospice where we care for people living with life-shortening illnesses, but our reach stretches throughout the local community via our specialist nurses that visit patients within their own homes.
“We couldn’t afford to do this without the support of our amazing communities like the staff at
Leyland Trucks. Everyone involved is helping so many people that they don’t know and will never meet, and for that, they deserve a big pat on the back.”
To donate, visit the Factory to Festival JustGiving page at: www.justgiving.com/campaign/factorytofestival
The 2019 Factory to Festival challenge was sponsored by Leyland Packaging, Goodyear, Lancashire DAF, Atlas Copco, Essential Industrial Services, South Ribble Borough Council, Preston’s College, Actemium and Maxion Wheels.


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Wigan 10K:

Helping Hand, alongside revolution running, completed a 10k on Sunday to raise money in the memory of Craig Talbot. At the request of his family we are going to donate the money raised to North West Air Ambulance and the British Heart Foundation.    We had such great support on the day and everyone felt proud to be able to run on behalf of Helping Hand and raising money for a great cause.
 
 https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/wigan10kHelpingHand 

Follow our Facebook Page for more details - https://www.facebook.com/lthelpinghand

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