Toyota pedal power to help raise £300,000 for the Motor Neurone Disease Association

Toyota (GB), Toyota Financial Services, Toyota Insurance Services and KINTO UK, aim to raise £300,000 for the MND Association this year through a range of charity challenges, including their toughest fund-raising event yet – a 420-mile sponsored cycle across England. 

The ride takes place from 24 – 28 June, with Toyota employees covering the distance in one or two-day legs between Toyota sites from Portsmouth to Newcastle. The route includes a stop at the MND Association’s headquarters in Northampton. More than 50 staff from the four Toyota businesses have signed up to participate, including Scott Thompson, Toyota (GB) President and Managing Director, Jason Milton, CEO Toyota Insurance Services UK, Rob McKendrick, Director Customer Services, Toyota (GB), Eamonn Warters, Sales and Marketing Director for Toyota Financial Services (UK) and Stuart Ferma, Director of Operational Excellence, KINTO UK.

While their colleagues are out on the road, employees at Toyota (GB)’s Epsom headquarters will be taking part in a sponsored cycle on seven static bikes.  

A directors’ 100km walking challenge in September will also add to the £217,000 Toyota has raised for the MND Association since the charity partnership was formed in March 2021, achieved through a wide variety of events and activities. 

The team at Toyota has been inspired to support the Association in memory of their much-loved friend and colleague Rachel Rollason, who sadly died from MND in 2022.

There are 5,000 adults living with motor neurone disease in the UK. The condition causes messages from nerves (motor neurones) in the brain and spinal cord that control movement to gradually stop reaching the muscles, leading them to weaken, stiffen and waste, affecting a person’s ability to move, talk and eventually breathe.  There is no cure. The MND Association focuses on improving access to care, research and campaigning for those people living with or affected by MND in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Money raised by Toyota is helping the charity raise awareness of the disease and provide support to people living with the condition.

Scott Thompson, Toyota (GB) President and Managing Director, commented: “I’d like to thank all our colleagues who will be pushing themselves to the limit in undertaking this tough challenge, and those participating in our other fund-raising activities this year. We want to go further than any other corporate partner of the MND Association in raising £300,000 this year, to help fund the valuable work carried out by the charity.”

Chief Executive of the MND Association, Tanya Curry said: “We couldn’t be more grateful to our partners at Toyota who have done so much over the past three years to support the Association and the important work we do.

“Their extraordinary efforts help us to go even further in the fight against MND, enabling us to fund life-changing care and support for people who are living with and affected by this devastating disease, while accelerating ground-breaking research into the causes of MND which brings us ever closer to the promise of effective new treatments.

“Everyone at the MND Association is cheering the team on, and we look forward to welcoming them to our Northampton office on June 26.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

For more information and to donate to the Toyota Charity Challenge, visit https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/onetoyotacharitychallenge.