Cyclists from a West Oxfordshire estate agent are gearing up to raise thousands of pounds for charity.
Brendan and Lisa Kay, owners of Parkers Properties’ branches in Witney and Eynsham, will be joined by colleagues from other Parkers offices for the cycling challenge on September 10 and 11.
The Tour de Parkers challenge will see Brendan and Lisa and colleagues Simon Gregory, Theo Smith, Ash Howes, Morgan Jones, Toby Phillips and Jayson Wicks visit all 17 branches of the estate agent’s group across Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Hampshire and Gloucestershire.
All the money raised from Tour de Parkers will help fund the vital work of Oxford’s Ronald McDonald House.
The eight-strong Parkers team is aiming to raise £10,000 from the challenge which will see them cover more than 200 miles in two days starting at the Parkers branch in Stroud and culminating at a new Basingstoke office at the end of the second day.
The Ronald McDonald House is located at Oxford Children’s Hospital and opened in April 2020, providing ‘home away from home’ accommodation to families with children having treatment in hospital.
The House offers everything a family needs to continue some semblance of normal life including kitchens, laundry facilities, day rooms and a garden. The House has 62 bedrooms, enabling it to support families with children in the Oxford Children’s Hospital, Critical Care Unit and Newborn Care Unit.
Chloe Hodgson, a community fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House in Oxford, said: “The support of our corporate partners like Parkers, who we have built a strong relationship with over several years, is so important, especially at a time when fundraising is so challenging due to the cost-of-living crisis.
“The Ronald McDonald House can provide a lifeline for families when their lives have been turned upside down. Last year, we were able to accommodate over 1,000 families.”
This will be the second Tour de Parkers with a similar event seven years ago raising just under £6,000 for the same charity.
Brendan Kay, managing director at Parkers in West Oxfordshire, said: “We are proud to once again be fundraising for the Ronald McDonald House in Oxford. Both myself and Lisa and our colleague Simon Gregory have personal experiences of the Ronald McDonald House and know first-hand just how important it can be to families like ours.
“The eight of us are all busy training for the challenge and look forward to raising as much money as we can, enabling the charity to continue providing other families with the same level of care and support that our family and Simon’s received.”
To donate to the Tour de Parkers challenge visit https://www.justgiving.com/page/tour-de-parkers
