Burnley supported interns raise over £1000 for Burnley Together
Burnley’s DFN Project SEARCH group saddled up for Burnley Together, raising over £1000 by cycling a whopping 77 miles.
The team set off on their charity ‘journey’ at 9am, each jumping on the stationary bike at The Calico Group’s head office to rack up the mileage.
The 77-mile ‘route’ stopped at every DFN Project SEARCH location in Lancashire, including Places for People in Preston, Blackburn Asda, Hutton Police HQ and Colne Asda.
Sarah Moorhouse, Project SEARCH tutor, said: “Our target was to raise £300, and we’ve made over £1000 – phenomenal. It’s great knowing the money raised will go towards helping more people in Burnley”.
Students from Burnley’s DFN Project SEARCH class all enjoyed having a spin on the bike for charity. Colleagues from Calico and volunteers from Burnley College and BFC in the Community also hopped on to help tally up the miles.
Corey, one of six from the Burnley Project SEARCH cohort, said: “Everyone has got up and had a go and it’s for a great cause. I really enjoyed when I volunteered at Burnley Together so it’s good knowing how it’s going to help people”.
Throughout the day, colleagues guessed at the time it would take for the group to complete their challenge, ranging from an optimistic five hours, all the way up to eight.
The team managed to smash the challenge in just 6hr53 – a time guessed precisely by Kirsty Steele from Ring Stones, who took the prize for the best guess.
Maria Bolton, DFN Burnley Project SEARCH tutor, said: “In the morning, we were on track for 12 hours after a slow start – but we all sped up and smashed it!”.
The event celebrated National Supported Internship Day on 27thMarch. Across Lancashire, all Project SEARCH groups were tasked with a raising awareness by challenging themselves to different tasks.
Sarah added: “We had a brainstorming session to come up with ideas to fund raise. Out of other ideas like pie eating and wrestling, we all decided bike riding was the best!”.
DFN Project SEARCHprovides supported internships for people with learning difficulties and autism spectrum conditions, making a positive difference to the lives of young people looking to build their work experience while studying at college.
In Burnley, the programme supports people with work placements within The Calico Group and local businesses. The Calico Group is the host employer, working in partnership with Burnley College and Lancashire County Council.
If you’d like to donate, please visit their Just Giving fundraising page.