Introducing CEF - Sponsor
Now you have met all of the ‘Dodd1e’5 Gr4nd S7am’ team who will be undertaking this mad challenge, it’s time to introduce our brilliant sponsors, without whom we wouldn’t be able to get this show on the road. Next up is City Electrical Factors (CEF), The UK’s leading multi-channel electrical distributor. Here is Steve Pope, CEF’s Director of Power Tools, to tell us why they are getting involved in supporting the fight against MND…
“With a company purpose of ‘Together, we inspire the exceptional every day’, the ‘All Roads Lead to Rome’ bike ride challenge set by Rob Wainwright, and being undertaken by the ‘Dodd1e’5 Gr4nd S7am’ team led by Ian Barr & Rob Boyns, truly resonates with CEF. One of our company values is ‘We are a caring family’ so supporting the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation for a second year was an easy decision.
The back story to our support is that I have seen the effects of MND first-hand when Chris Davies, a school friend and rugby teammate was diagnosed with MND at the age of 36 and died 4 years later in 2003. He bravely undertook several media interviews to raise awareness of MND and generate funds to help find a cure.
He regularly used this quote, “I like to think that if someone gets MND in 10 years' time, there may be a cure for them. We need to raise funds for the necessary research and also make that research a major priority for those who control the purse strings.”
Twenty years after his death and still without a cure, through Ian, I was contacted by Rob Wainwright, former Scotland and British Lions rugby player, who asked if CEF would help him raise money for an MND charity – My Name'5 Doddie Foundation - set up by his former teammate and friend, Doddie Weir who had been diagnosed with MND.
By participating in this event, we not only uphold our values but also reinforce the belief that collective efforts can create real change. At CEF we’re wishing the ‘Dodd1e’5 Gr4nd S7am’ team all the best in their monumental endeavour for a brilliant cause.”