BEN Team Raises Marathon Money

On Sunday 17th April thousands of people took to the streets of London to run the 25th Flora London Marathon. BEN, the Motor and Allied Trades Benevolent Fund, had a team of nine industry members running to raise money for the charity. This is the largest team BEN has ever entered into the gruelling 26.2 mile race and the Fund hopes to raise around £10,000 in sponsorship thanks to the participation and hard work of the runners.

Four of the runners sourced their own places but the remaining five entered through the Golden Bond scheme, which allows charities to secure places for the event year on year. This is the first year that BEN has been approached by companies within our industries trying to find places. Not only have they been constructive in sourcing their places, but they have fully supported their runners in achieving their fundraising targets.

Robert Bosch in Uxbridge, BMW in Bracknell and Bentley in Crewe all entered runners and by doing so, each employee pledged to raise a minimum of £1500 sponsorship for BEN with assistance from their organisation. This type of corporate involvement helped to ensure that BEN achieved its fundraising target for the event.

Looking ahead, anyone interested in taking part in the 26th Flora London Marathon, on Sunday 23rd April 2006, and raising funds for BEN should contact Andrew Ogierman on 01344 294 719 or E-mail andrew.ogierman@ben.org.uk