Sponsors of the upcoming Factory to Festival (FTF) Miles Better Together initiative, launched to replace this year’s Factory to Festival fundraiser, have already raised £5,900 for local charities.
 
Earlier this year, Leyland Trucks opted to cancel its annual Helping Hand event for the first time, because of COVID-19. It has since launched FTF Miles Better Together, a fortnight-long, safe and socially-distanced fundraising event which is being sponsored by a raft of Lancashire organisations including Made Profiles Ltd, Schneider Electric, Pailton Engineering and Essential Industrial Services.
 
Brigade Electronics, the Leyland Rotary Club, Atlas Copco Tools, South Ribble Borough Council and KP Industries have also signed up to sponsor the event, contributing to the fundraising pot which has already reached £8,000.
 
Set to take place between Saturday 25th July and Sunday 9th August – during the factory’s annual shutdown period – the event will see Leyland Trucks’ team, their families and friends grab their bikes, running shoes or walking boots to collectively cover as many miles as physically possible to contribute to a target of 2,800 miles - the distance you would cover if you were to visit DAF Trucks’ main European operations.
 
Leyland Trucks’ Factory to Festival event last year saw more than 110 cyclists cover 8,000 miles to raise more than £16,000. This year’s unique set up features a range of different challenges that have accumulated more than 100 confirmed participants, including a running event held by Revolution Running Club, a community cycle ride organised by South Ribble Borough Council, a 100-mile-in-a-day contest and an online, 200-mile club for any willing participants to join on Strava.
 
Stuart Derbyshire, Leyland Trucks’ prototype manager and Helping Hand committee member, has organised an additional challenge for riders to cycle from Leyland Trucks to Lytham and back in a single day, to notch up their miles and gain extra donations.
 
He said: “The true spirit of Leyland is captured each year with the annual festival and our fundraiser. Though these two events which bring the town together have been cancelled, we’ve been inundated with generosity from local organisations wanting to still play their part to support local charities, and families who are eager to get involved with our socially distanced challenges.
 
“Our social value agenda never pauses – not even for COVID-19 – and we are pleased that this new calendar of events and method of raising money has been so well received in the community. It shows that, even through adversity and challenging times, Leyland people still want to come together for the benefit of others.
 
“Our Helping Hand charity has already donated more than £1m to local causes, and FTF Miles Better Together will ensure we can add to that. I can’t thank our sponsors enough for their generous donations ahead of the event even taking place – they have got our fundraising efforts off to a great start.
 
“There’s still time for people to join our teams of walkers, cyclists, golfers, runners and triathletes, while donations – big or small – will always be welcome. They go such a long way, and really do improve the lives of those in our community.”
 
Leyland Trucks has carefully selected the charities which will benefit from the FTF Miles Better Together challenge, as a thank you to those that have delivered vital front line and care services throughout COVID-19. Donations from the event will be provided to St Catherine’s Hospice, The Ambulance Service Charity and other NHS front line charities.
 
Greg Fearn from sponsor Schneider Electric, said: “We are proud to sponsor such an important charity event, particularly one which holds more significance and importance than ever during these difficult times.
 
“We have a long-standing and close relationship with Leyland Trucks and can see they truly value supporting our local community which is something that should be celebrated.”
 
Roger Brereton from sponsor Pailton Engineering, said: “We’ve supplied steering system parts to Leyland Trucks for many years, so we’re familiar with the company’s charitable efforts and past fundraising events. Its adaptability to raise their annual fundraising targets amid the global pandemic has impressed us, so while this year’s event has had to take a new format, the ethos and values behind the event are as positive as ever.”
 
Helping Hand is a non-profit organisation run by a dedicated committee of Leyland Trucks and PACCAR Parts employees. Founded in 1994 by a group of enthusiastic workers who wanted to help disadvantaged employees and local causes, the charity last year celebrated its 25th anniversary.
 
The yearly Factory to Festival fundraiser forms a key part of the Leyland Festival schedule each year. Dating back more than 150 years, generations of local families have grown up with the festival, with its legacy continuing to attract the support and involvement of local people, organisations, schools, community groups and more. 2020 marks the only time the festival has been cancelled.

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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