The Business Development Manager of top UK cleaning company, Citrica, is taking four days off work to raise funds for Veterans Aid (www.veterans-aid.net )Accompanied by his brother Tom, Jack Buckley is swapping his city suit for cycling gear in a bid to complete a sponsored 300-mile cycle ride for the London-based charity.
Between them the Buckley brothers hope to raise £7,000.
“We’re absolutely delighted by what they are doing for us,” said CEO of Veterans Aid Dr Hugh Milroy. “This is real commitment and an amazing gesture for two busy men to make.”
Privately owned Citrica is the UK’s Greenest Commercial Cleaning Company, renowned for the comprehensive and professional service it provides to many SME’s and blue chip clients. It is also a staunch supporter of Veterans Aid and has provided help quietly, behind the scenes, in a variety of ways. This time its efforts will be more public however as Jack and Tom need as much sponsorship as possible to reach their target.
“We’re leaving on 10 August from Crystal Palace” said Jack “and our ride will end at the Arc de Triomphe, in Paris.”
The brothers will depart at 0630, covering around 100 miles a day, passing through small villages, towns and magnificent countryside.
Both are already fit but putting in regular practice sessions to get in peak form for the ride. They’ve done a gruelling 10k run in the past but this will be their first charity cycle ‘marathon’.
“We’ve always had mountain bikes so didn’t have to buy anything specially for this,” said Jack. “We run four times a week and we’re doing a long bike ride together too before the event.”
Citrica has excellent CSR credentials and has helped many organisations on an ad hoc basis since its foundation, but after discovering Veterans Aid the company, headed up by Tom and Jack’s father Danny Buckley, decided it had found ‘the one’.
Jack said, “I believe that this is a great charity and I know that anything donated will not be spent on expenses or the management’s next pay rise. It will go to the people who need it the most. It will pay for anything from housing, medical help, rehabilitation to a warm meal a bath or some clean, new clothes.
“We’re doing this as a personal challenge, but we’re also championing VA because we’ve had a good insight into what it does and know it’s a worthy cause.”
“Veterans Aid has been around for almost 80 years and represents everything that a charity should be about, supporting those who need help during times of crises, who are homeless or likely to become homeless. While the name suggests giving immediate help to ex-Servicemen, woman and their families, the ultimate aim is to get people back on track and leading a stable lives. Veterans Aid’s staff really are at the real sharp end of charity work.”
If you’d like to help please publicise this wonderful gesture wherever you can and visit the Just Giving site to support Tom and Jack. Everything raised will go directly to the ex-Servicemen and women seeking help from Veterans Aid.