Inspiring Autumn Supporter Stories
Tuesday, October 29th, 2024
(Images: EA T-rex runner in Birmingham, Robin Beanland celebrates with fellow cyclists and (r) Michael Roach in full Xi’an outfit)
Thank you to EVERYONE who’s gone the extra mile to support us recently. Here are just three stories highlighting some amazing supporter successes.
Pedalling through the pain and the rain
“I’m thinking of doing Land’s End to John O’Groats one last time…” One LAST time? Who on earth does it more than once? Ah, that would be our Ambassador and fitness phenomenon Robin Beanland of RARE (Rare Extraordinaire we’d say!), and he’s already made the trip twice. Robin set off from Land’s End to cycle the gruelling 980 mile route for us in the Ride Across Britain 2024 ultra-challenge in September. The trip took nine days overall and the weather was inclement, making it even more demanding.
“Day five was definitely the worst in terms of weather,” said Robin. “We started with a rainstorm… then I got a puncture in the rainstorm, then we had to make an emergency stop to buy some extra layers because we were soaked and shivering. These stops resulted in the dreaded Broom Wagon appearing behind us.”
“We arrived at the first pit stop at a garden centre; it was like something out of a disaster movie with cyclists wrapped in foil blankets and trying to get warm in police cars while one of the organisers was asking each cyclist if they were ‘medically okay’. Around fifty of them threw in the towel that day and got on the broom wagon. We then set off from pitstop 1 straight into another rainstorm, swiftly followed by a hailstorm…”
“…I think I’ve managed to come off pretty unscathed though…”
What an absolute hero! He insists that “This will definitely be the third and final time,” but with Robin you never quite know. He’s currently raised over £2,600 for our work, and you can still donate here.
Best in Show
What a fantastic gesture from Michael Roach, whose amazing winning cosplay at CitizenCon bagged him a high tech Eye Tracker bundle from competition sponsors Tobii – which he promptly donated to SpecialEffect!
Michael’s Star Citizen character, an ambassador of the Xi’an, a peaceful reptiloid-like alien race, was a stunning piece of work, impressing both the crowd and the judges.
What’s more, when Tobii heard that he was going to donate his prize, they were so impressed they asked him to keep his own – and offered to send an extra bundle to us!
Monster Run
We love this wonderful image from EA of members of their staff taking on a 5k challenge in Birmingham. EA staff from around the world were taking on similar challenges and raising money for us this month as part of our One Special Day event. A massive thank you to all those taking part!