Leg 2 Begins with Additional Charity Partner, Updated Fundraising Target, and GPS Tracking
(Amsterdam, Netherlands) 20th February 2020
Crossing the English Channel and arriving in Calais, France this past weekend, Luke Grenfell-Shaw and his tandem bicycle named Chris have now begun the second leg of the Bristol2Beijing expedition. Leg 2, the Europe Tour, is a course of at least 5,200 kilometres over approximately two months as Luke and Chris make their way to Istanbul. Friends of the campaign can now follow Luke and Chris on their journey via the Bristol2Beijing website now that Chris is equipped with a GPS tracking system powered by ZeroSixZero.
Today, Luke is pleased to announce a regional partner charity that will benefit from one fifth of funds raised during the Europe Tour. World Child Cancer is an established leader in creating a world where every child with cancer has equal access to the best treatment and care. The charity works to do this by supporting vulnerable children through cancer treatment, providing key training to healthcare workers, and raising awareness of childhood cancer in low-and middle-income countries – where survival rates can be as low as 10%. Specifically, contributions to Bristol2Beijing during the Europe Tour will fund a World Child Cancer partnership that is providing training and education of healthcare professionals that are supporting children with cancer in Kosovo, the poorest country that Luke and Chris expect to visit on their way to Istanbul. Funds raised for World Child Cancer in excess of £5,000 will be split between two of the organisation’s important and growing projects aimed at improving paediatric oncology outcomes in Nepal and Bangladesh. Luke and Chris hope to visit these projects in Kosovo, Nepal, and Bangladesh on their way to Beijing.
“I’m incredibly excited that we’re now also supporting World Child Cancer,” Luke said. “I feel fortunate to have had such outstanding support in the United Kingdom and I have hoped this expedition could support organisations that do amazing work in other parts of the world with far more limited resources. I hope this partnership will increase the global reach and impact of Bristol2Beijing and the CanLive movement.”
“We are thrilled to be working with Luke and the Bristol2Beijing campaign to help make a better world for children living with cancer,” said Jon Rosser, Chief Executive at World Child Cancer. “In Kosovo, our sister charity, World Child Cancer Netherlands help to make high quality cancer care more accessible for children in one of the poorest parts of Europe. What Luke is doing is so brave and we look forward to cheering him on along the way!”
As they make their way across Europe to Istanbul, Luke and Chris will continue raising funds for the four UK partner charities (Teenage Cancer Trust, CLIC Sargent, Trekstock, and 5k Your Way--Move Against Cancer). Funds raised during the Europe Tour will be split evenly between all five charities, now including World Child Cancer. Building on the success and momentum of the first leg of the expedition, Luke is pleased to announce an updated charity fundraising target for this leg of the expedition. By the time Luke and Chris arrive in Istanbul, Bristol2Beijing and its charity partners aim to raise an additional £93,000 for a new sum total target of £123,000. The ambitious new target aims to leverage the rocket fuel of Bristol2Beijing partners Newton and Velocity Black and the fast-growing CanLive community that has been spreading the word about the expedition.