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With the roar of engines and the screeching of brakes, the drivers at this year’s Great Homes Go-Karting Challenge had more than their fair share of fun….. but importantly they raised over £2,700 on the day for a special local charity too, with much more to come through sponsorships.
More than 30 keen ‘go-karters’ joined David Sparks and Chris Lineham, directors of Great Homes Limited, which is building in Essex and Ashford in Kent, and their team for a 90-minute, two-man team endurance race using 400cc twin engine vehicles at the Lakeside Karting Raceway on the Essex-Kent border in Thurrock.
Among the special guests were Sheilagh Farebrother, the Children’s Services Manager of the Ronald McDonald House charity, and three residents of Sandringham Court in Hadleigh, Doreen Mowatt, Grace Halley and Biddy Hide.
Each ‘go-karter’ donned safety equipment and overalls before listening to a safety and procedural briefing from the experts before the racing began. It was an important precaution because with speeds of around 70mph, the race was definitely not for the faint hearted.
But while everyone had fun, the important aim of the challenge was to raise as much money as possible for the brand new Ronald McDonald House at Basildon hospital. The house opened the very day before the Great Homes Go-Karting Challenge, on Wednesday, September 7, and provides overnight accommodation for parents of sick children receiving treatment at the hospital.
Until now, that charity has relied upon camp beds put up for a parent at the side of the child’s bed in a children’s ward. This hasn’t always been ideal, especially when a child has a serious on-going or life-limiting illness or when a baby is born prematurely and its life unstable. For this reason, a £100,000 appeal was launched to complete the building of a three-bedroomed house.
The charity now desperately needs furniture, kitchen equipment, garden landscaping and outdoor seating, and it is for these items that the go-karting challenge was held and funds raised. Great Homes donated £1 for every completed lap by each cart during the race, and further sponsorship was secured by each individual driver taking part. In total, the event raised a total of £2,700 on the day with more coming in through individual sponsorships, beating the amount raised at a similar challenge event held for the first time last year.
“We are delighted by how well this year’s event went,” says David Sparks, managing director of Great Homes. “While everyone enjoyed a good afternoon, nobody lost sight of the fact that we were raising funds for a very worthwhile cause. The Ronald McDonald House does a wonderful job, and we are pleased to have raised so much money for them.”
A bottle of Champagne was uncorked as the winners were announced and a cheque presented to Sheilagh Farebrother. “We are really grateful to local businesses for supporting the Ronald McDonald House. We couldn’t have achieved what we have so far if it weren’t for businesses like Great Homes helping us to raise funds,” says Sheilagh. “It has been an enjoyable event and I must say an imaginative way to raise funds.”
The winners were Team 7, Andy Beer and Shaun Lambe, who managed a total of 119 completed laps, followed by Team 6, Kevin Cruiks and Paul Lambert, with 117 laps and Team 2, David Sparks and Stephen Ayers with 113 laps.
The Great Homes Go-Karting Challenge was held for the first time last year with the aim to raise much-needed charitable funds and give something back to the local community. Such was its success that the 2005 event became a natural follow-up.
“What with all the noise, mud and disruption that goes with building new houses we know our work can be intrusive to local communities,” explains David Sparks. “With this in mind, we wanted to create an event which gave something back. We never dreamed it would be so successful and hope that it will become an annual event.”
The company has just completed two fine developments in Essex, Sandringham Court in Hadleigh for which it is a nominated award winner in the Daily Mail Property Awards 2005 and Branksome Mews in Stanford-le-Hope, and is currently the force behind an attractive complex of 46 one and two-bedroomed apartments in Singleton, near Ashford in Kent.
Known as Windsor Court, the apartments have been designed with buyers of 55 years and over in mind, and feature a CCTV entryphone system to monitor visitors to the building, a 24-hour support and careline facility for emergencies and the services of a duty manager.
Each apartment is beautifully presented with a fully fitted kitchen with integral appliances that include a double oven, a hob with an extractor fan above, a fridge/freezer and even a washer/dryer as standard. There is a residents' lounge and a conservatory too.
For further information on the Great Homes Go-Karting Challenge or its new Windsor Court development, contact Great Homes Limited on 01375 484420, or visit its website www.greathomesltd.co.uk.
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