2 staff members from Charlton Athletic Community Trust (CACT), including a Charlton Athletic legend, joined the fight against prostate cancer by completing this year’s Football to Amsterdam cycling challenge for Prostate Cancer UK.
Set off on Friday June 3rd, Director of Finance Mark Gregory and former Charlton Athletic and Liverpool goalkeeper Bob Bolder pounded the pedals from London to Amsterdam to support the leading men’s health charity against a disease that kills one man every hour.
Prostate Cancer UK, the Official Charity Partner of The Football League, staged its fourth annual football fundraiser from 3-5 June 2016 – prostatecanceruk.org/amsterdam – with this year including three Grand Departs. One group of riders rode out of London from a new starting point at the iconic Olympic Park’s Velodrome, while two further groups kicked off at Barnsley FC’s Oakwell Stadium and at Portman Road, home of Ipswich Town FC.
And Men United’s Three Lions, Luther Blissett, Terry Butcher and Viv Anderson started from London, Ipswich and Barnsley respectively.
Proudly representing Charlton Athletic, Mark and Bob joined the former England trio amid more than 350 riders in Prostate Cancer UK’s Men United team, all riding 145 miles and raising money to stop prostate cancer being a killer.
Aiming for an impressive £500,000, the donations will help ‘shift the science’ and crack the three core issues of diagnosis, treatment and prevention which have been left unsolved for too long. It will also help provide support and information to those affected by the disease.
From the initial event in 2013 with a small group of 35 riders, to a total fundraising tally which will smash through the £1m mark this year thanks to a biggest ever peloton; the football-themed cycling challenge has proved a phenomenal success throughout its four years.
James Beeby, Director of Fundraising at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “Ignoring prostate cancer will not beat it, and the money raised by our fantastic riders will fund ground-breaking research to help fight the disease. That will help us provide dedicated support and information to men and their families affected by this disease.
“One man every hour dies from prostate cancer; it’s the most common cancer in men, but we want to make prostate cancer a disease that the next generation of men do not fear.”
Many people are unaware that prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. It’s a huge issue that cannot be ignored. In 2016 one man an hour will die from prostate cancer in the UK. That’s 10,900 men this year. Based on current trends, if we ignore prostate cancer and do nothing, this number will rise to over 14,500 men a year by 2026.
People are urged to search Men United and join the fight, and use #F2A to share stories and updates online.
You can still sponsor Charlton Athletic and help them achieve their target of £3,000. Please visit https://www.justgiving.com/Charlton-Athletic-Community-Trust
For more information about the ride, visit prostatecanceruk.org/amsterdam or contact the cycling team by calling 020 8222 7158 or emailing cycling@prostatecanceruk.org