Coventry-based company cycling for earthquake relief efforts
Staff at BtoB Events say they want to raise a minimum of £5000.
A Coventry-based company is raising funds to help those affected by the tragic earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.
Staff at BtoB Events Limited, at Coventry University Technology Park, have decided to fundraise by cycling "border to border" on an exercise bike in the office.
The distance will be equivalent as riding from the UK to the Turkey-Syria border.
Ken Baber is the group exhibition manager, and he is of Turkish descent.
He said: "The company has had huge support from Turkey over the years.
"We're very well connected to the Government, associations, agents - and we have colleagues out there who we see as friends. It really hit home for us."
"It's broken our hearts"
He continued: "It's just really sad, you know. Not only have people lost their lives, but there's people that are homeless and without families, and it's just broken our hearts.
"This was the very least we could do. We really wanted to raise money for this cause because it's just so heart-breaking."
Their minimum target of £5,000 will go to Action for Humanity, who are on the ground delivering emergency aid and holistic kits to the affected zones.
Currently, the team have cycled the equivalent of the English Channel, all the way to Luxembourg.
Georgina Lloyd, exhibition manager, said they wanted to do something to support Turkey and Syria, following the disaster.
She explained: "We do a lot of work with Turkey as a whole, and wanted to do something, as it really hit home for us.
"So far, we've done around 400 kilometres, and raised over £600."
When the company founder, Jamie Hill, first started planning the fundraiser, the death toll was 8,000 – but the disaster has now taken the lives of more than 44,000 people.
A 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey yesterday, weeks after the deadly quakes devastated the region.
BtoB Events, who are responsible for organising exhibitions across the West African market, have set up a Just Giving page where people can donate: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/btob-events.