CBRE EMEA CHARITY BIKE RIDE RAISES £100,000 FOR PLAN INTERNATIONAL
Over 100 CBRE employees, clients, and supporters took part in the CBRE EMEA charity bike ride for Plan International, the leading global children’s charity.
Now in its ninth year, the five-day cycling challenge started in Bilbao and saw participant’s cycle over 700km and climb over 13,000 meters - which included taking on some of the most demanding leg-testing climbs in northern Spain. The ride finished in Santiago do Compostela, and has already raised £100,000 for Plan International’s, Safer Cities programme, in Nairobi, Kenya. The funds raised will help transform the lives of thousands of vulnerable young people in Embakasi, one of the poorest parts of Nairobi.
Plan International’s Safer Cities for Girls programme, which is already running successfully in Cairo, Kampala, Hanoi, Lima and Delhi, aims to make cities safer for girls and women, and to transform them into places of inclusion, tolerance and opportunity. Every year, over 20 million girls move to cities to find jobs and escape the abuse and early marriage often experienced in rural communities. But far from finding opportunity, for thousands of girls’ city life can mean sexual harassment, violence or worse. The findings from the Violence Against Children survey (VAC) 2010 indicated that safety is a serious problem in Kenya. 32% of girls and 18% of boys have experienced sexual violence and 66% of girls and 73% of boys have experienced physical violence.
Well I can confirm that it definitely rains in Spain! This year’s ride was one of the most challenging, and the wettest, but despite the weather everyone successfully completed the challenge. The ride included some of the toughest climbs in professional cycling and saw the riders take on climbs of 13,000 meters and cycle over 700km in just five days. The funds raised from the ride are for such an important and worthwhile cause which will help change the lives of young people.
Sam Davies, Head of Major Partnerships, Plan International UK, said: “What an incredible event! The sight of 100 riders all clad in their pink shirts winding up some of the steepest climbs in Europe was amazing. And what a committed bunch of riders who cranked through those punishing hills usually with smiles on their faces all to raise money for Plan’s Safer Cities for Girls project. It was an absolute pleasure to ride with such a fantastic group of people and I was really proud to take part in such a monumental challenge. Thank you to CBRE and the sponsors for making this happen.”
Since 2014 CBRE has been working with Plan International to support some of the world’s most vulnerable children, particularly girls, and has now raised over £1.2 million. During the first three years of the partnership the programme helped girls in Sierra Leone complete their education, supporting more than 135,000 children, even throughout the challenges of the Ebola crisis. Now with the Safer Cities project CBRE is continuing to champion girls’ rights in Nairobi to affect the change they want to see in their communities.