BURNLEY TO BELFAST - CHARITY CYCLE

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Charity ride to raise funds for Burnley in the Community and Alzheimer’s Society

2022-03-16T13:13:10.237Z

BURNLEY TO BELFAST - CHARITY CYCLE

Charity ride to raise funds for Burnley in the Community and Alzheimer’s Society

2022-03-16T13:13:10.237Z

Charity ride to raise funds for Burnley in the Community and Alzheimer’s Society

Burnley FC in the Community staff members, Gwilym Jones (Primary and Secondary Schools Engagement Manager) and Michael Colquhoun (Head of Community Welfare and Inclusion) will once again take on another charity cycle, this time from Turf Moor to Glentoran FC in Belfast, to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society and Burnley FC in the Community (BFCitC) in May 2022.

Burnley legend Jimmy McIlroy lived with dementia in his later life before his passing in 2018, as have several other Clarets ex-players.

Gwilym and Michael want to raise awareness of the disease by taking on the cycle challenge, while raising money for the Alzheimer’s Society and BFCitC’s own community programme, the Dementia Café, which offers a safe and welcoming space for those living with dementia.

Burnley FC have supported Alzheimer’s Society throughout this season and are backing the charity’s Sport United Against Dementia campaign, which is bringing the sporting world together to create real and lasting change for people affected by dementia.

The campaign seeks to increase awareness of dementia and what support is available, help make sports dementia friendly, so people with dementia can continue to enjoy watching sports in their local communities, and fund research to better understand the connections between sport and dementia.

Support so far has included Burnley FC making a donation for each sale of their third kit launched in September last year, and the charity’s logo was also displayed on the front of their first-team playing kit for their Carabao Cup match against Rochdale.

McIlroy started his career with Glentoran Football Club and this will be the destination for the cycle, where the pair will link up with Glentoran Club staff upon arrival at The Oval.

In May 2021, both Gwilym and Michael cycled from Turf Moor to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, raising over £2,000 in the process for three different charities, a fantastic effort.

And they are set to get back on the saddle and do it all again for a great cause!

The cycle is approximately 270 miles and will take around three days to complete. The route will take them through Wales, Republic of Ireland and into Northern Ireland.

Training is well underway for Gwilym and Michael to make sure they’re ready to take on this huge challenge, so please show your support and donate!

Tara Edwards, Alzheimer’s Society Lancashire Area Manager said: “We are in awe of supporters like Gwilym and Michael whose brilliant fundraising efforts enable us to reach more people through our vital support services.

“It will be such an achievement completing their challenge of cycling from Burnley FC’s ground to Glentoran FC’s ground in Belfast.

“We’re also really proud to be working with Burnley FC on our Sports United Against Dementia Campaign.

“The Club has already been doing some incredible work to support people living with dementia in the local community and we hope to see more Clubs follow in Burnley’s footsteps to help ensure no one faces dementia alone.

“Our Alzheimer’s Society support services have been used over six million times since March 2020. But thanks to the efforts of fundraisers like Gwilym and Michael we can be a lifeline to the 900,000 people across the UK living with dementia, 17,000 of which are in Lancashire.”