MBE Winner Praises Fundraising Efforts of First Stop Dealers

The founder of a charity improving life for handicapped and impoverished African youngsters has praised the efforts of six First Stop tyre dealerships for helping her receive an MBE. Sister Elizabeth Dawson was awarded the honour last month (July) for her work with the Zambia Project, a cause she championed in the late 1990s to provide education, accommodation and amenities for young people living in the Lusaka region of Zambia.

Refusing to accept personal praise for the success of the project, she is dedicating her achievement to the scores of fundraisers who have supported her. That includes close friend Ken Riley, director of Liverpool-based Tyrecraft, who helped raise more than £2,000 for the Zambia Project at a high-profile event last September.

“The MBE isn’t for me, it’s for people like Ken who have helped raise thousands of pounds for the Zambia Project over the years,” said Sister Dawson. “They’re the ones that have made the real difference and without them I wouldn’t be in this position.”
Riley joined forces with five other dealers from Bridgestone’s First Stop network – Pemberton Tyres (Wigan), Ashton Tyre & Exhaust (Ashton-in-Makerfield), Tyresave (St Helens), Tyreworld (Widnes) and Roadrunner Tyres (Cabus, near Preston) – to raise money at Truckfest North West 2005, an action-packed show attended by celebrities from TV and music, including Coronation Street stars Bill Ward and Sarah O’Brien, and Girls Aloud singer Sarah Harding.

Visitors were able to meet and greet the stars on the Bridgestone stand, as well as paying a small donation to pose alongside a replica of Michael Schumacher’s World Championship-winning Ferrari and test their driving skills on a state-of-the art racing simulator.

“Sister Dawson is a truly inspirational person who is always putting the interests of others before herself, and the other First Stop dealers were more than happy to support her work at Truckfest,” said Riley, who knows Sister Dawson through his local church. “The MBE is fully deserved – although it doesn’t come close to rewarding the impact the Zambia Project has made over the years, helping hundreds of youngsters achieve sustainability and a better quality way of life.”

Tyrecaft, Pemberton Tyres, Ashton Tyre & Exhaust, Tyresave, Tyreworld and Roadrunner Tyres will continue to support the Zambia Project at Truckfest North West 2006 in September, when they will again take a stand in association with Bridgestone.