VPS Group’s Charity Cycle ride reaches half-way target for mental health campaigns
This Sunday, Darron Cavanagh, chief operating officer at The VPS Group, and Lee Newman, their CEO, will climb onto their saddles and start pedaling on their five-day cycling marathon around the UK to the Group’s main offices. From London to Manchester, via Norwich, they are hoping to raise £50,000 for Samaritans and other mental health initiatives.
This week they achieved the half-way stage with £25,000 already donated by friends, colleagues, suppliers and the general public. (to help them reach the finishing line with whatever can be spared visit the JustGiving page for donations here – justgiving.com/crowdfunding/vpscharitybikeride2021)
“We’re incredibly grateful for all the support we’ve received to date.” says Darron. “When it looked like we were coming out of the first lockdown last year, myself and Lee discussed the idea of doing something to raise money for charity. Lockdowns have been particularly tough for people’s mental health, so we decided on a bike ride to raise money for Samaritans and other campaigns to support mental health and wellbeing.”
In the UK, suicide is the biggest killer of men under 50 and young people aged 20-34. Within the construction, security, and facilities management sectors, three of the key sectors the VPS Group work in, there are some of the highest risk occupations susceptible to stress.
Darron adds: “This week is Mental Health Awareness week, so it is a good moment to encourage people to support others, to talk to others, and shift the stigma away.”
The VPS Group, Europe’s leading temporary security specialists, have made mental health initiatives their top priority in 2021.
“Being able to invest in a programme that helps people and raises awareness is really exciting.” says Lee Newman, Group CEO. “My wife Sophie is a Samaritan and the number of people that ring through to Samaritans every day is astonishing. There is a call every seven seconds. Anything we can do to help that organisation, and ultimately help the mental health of our nation, has to be a good thing.”
A number of guest cyclists, including Paul Lewis, subsidiary company Evander’s Managing Director, will be joining the cycling duo to ride sections of the route in support of the group’s fundraising efforts.
#vpscharitybikeride2021
VPS #StrongerTogether Mental Health Initiatives: As well becoming a corporate partner with Samaritans, The VPS Group are:
- investing in a mental wellbeing program
- building a #StrongerTogether campaign
- partnering with Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) England
- and promoting and sharing support resources to cope with the stress of the pandemic.
For financial, physical and mental wellbeing support they have also partnered with MetLife to give all their UK employees access to the MetLife Wellbeing Hub. The hub offers free and confidential counselling, therapy, support, help and assistance. There are weekly guides, resources and tips promoted throughout the company, supplemented by stress awareness, time to talk, and mental health awareness days. Many of these will be shared on its social media platforms. The 360-mile charity bike ride is the latest of these initiatives to raise £50,000 for Samaritans and the development of further mental health support within the company.
The VPS Group is Europe’s leading temporary security specialist offering an Intelligent Triple Protection proposition to customers in a range of sectors with a focus on vacant and void residential and commercial properties, alongside construction site security. The group is formed of 12 businesses and employs over 1300 staff across 7 countries in the UK and mainland Europe. Core facilities management and building services cover the vacant, unoccupied and void property lifecycle from an initial risk assessment to security including guarding, monitoring, clearing, cleaning, maintenance and preparation. These services protect properties against unauthorised access and a variety of hazards such as arson, theft, squatting and unauthorised occupation. Its sister company, VPS Site Security specialise in providing security for construction, highways, utilities and remote challenging sites.
Evander is the UK’s leading provider of responsive, pre-planned and emergency home services. They work closely with the major insurance companies and facility managers as well as direct with commercial properties and homeowners to provide award-winning expert glazing, doors, locks and smart home security services.
https://www.evander.com/
e enquiries@vps.evander.com