Cornish charity to cycle 1,000 miles across the country for autism awareness
They're looking to raise £10,000 for the challenge
Last updated 6th May 2022
A Cornish charity supporting adults and children are set to cycle 1000 miles to raise awareness for autism.
Spectrum have set out from Land's End today (Friday 6th May) with a goal to raise £10,000, to celebrate 40 years of hard work from carers and continue to raise money to improve their education centre.
Gila Freudenthal, Marketing & Communications Manager, who will be involved in the cycle to John O'Groats told us:
"We want to make as big an impact as we can really as there's still a lot of mistruth about autism.
"We want more people to understand what it means to be autistic".
"We thought about a way to help raise awareness and acknowledge all the great work our carers have done. It is our mission to raise awareness for autism and encourage each service user to be active member of their community, leading fulfilled lives and playing valued social roles".
Autism is a spectrum condition which affects people in different ways, with many with the condition dealing with learning difficulties, mental health needs or other conditions resulting in them needing different levels of support.
The charity 'Spectrum' provides expert, specialist care services for autistic adults and children of all stages.
Andrew Antrobus, Fleet Manager, also involved in the cycle, said: "I’m the type of person who relishes a challenge therefore I decided to take part in this Charity Event to help raise funds and the awareness of Autism within society and the excellent work which Spectrum has done over the past 40 years.
"This is also to give praise for the fantastic work by our Caring Staff out in the field who have in turn demonstrated the great achievements of our service users over the years".
One of the charity's goals is to promote outdoor activity to service users and its impact for good and sustained mental health and emotional resilience, which is why they decided on a cycle for their two-week challenge.
The cycle team have seen the challenges faced by the care sector throughout the pandemic and have said they want to honour the continued hard work being undertaken by care teams to this day.
Jason McGowan, Maintenance Manager, added: “I’m taking part in this challenge to hopefully help raise awareness of all the great work that our carers have done during covid. I’ve seen all the challenges they’ve had to face throughout this pandemic, I think they have been amazing.
"I’ve cycled and raced bikes all my life and I know how hard this challenge will be. A 1000 miles over challenging terrain will be no walk in the park. I can’t wait!"
The cycle will finish at John O Groats on 19th May, first passing through Launceston, Tiverton, Wells, Hereford, Telford, Wigan, Kendal, Carlisle, Peebles, Perth, Ballater, Inverness, and Lairg, with other members of the team participating in virtual segments of the route at home on exercise bikes.
You can read more about the charity Spectrum and what they do on their website and donate to the cause here.