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The Mayor of Thurrock, Cllr Joy Redsell, was delighted to receive a cheque for her chosen Community Chest charities from the directors of Great Homes Limited at a special Gala Dinner recently. Councillor Redsell said at the dinner, 'Everyone at Great Homes has worked so hard. I was really thrilled when they told me how much this one event has raised.'
The sum of 2,788 was raised at an earlier fundraising event held at the Lakeside Karting Raceway in September, at which the Mayor was the special guest. With the wave of the flag, Councillor Redsell started the Great Homes Go-Karting Challenge on the day.
The brainchild of David Sparks and Chris Lineham, directors of Thurrock-based Great Homes Limited, which is building new homes in Essex and Kent, the Go-Karting Challenge was first launched in 2004. 'We are delighted that what has become an annual event has now raised over 7,200 for local charities,' says Mr Sparks.
This year's event was one of the most successful to date. Teams of sponsored drivers from businesses throughout Essex and Kent joined David, Chris and members of the Great Homes team for a 90-minute, two-man endurance race in powerful 400cc twin engine vehicles. Speeds of around 70mph were recorded during the race.
The winners were Team 9, Daniel Mobbs and Mike Butland, who completed 112 laps. They were followed by Team 15, Tim Collins and Steve Wallbank, in second place with 110 laps, and Team 11, Jon Crisp and Chris Lineham, in third place with 109 laps.
Great Homes donated 1 for every completed lap by every cart during the race, while further sponsorship was secured in advance of the race by each individual driver taking part. Further donations were received by a number of businesses supporting the event.
'We had a record number of drivers taking part this year and are delighted that we raised so much money for the Mayor's Community Chest,' says David Sparks, managing director of Great Homes. 'We are really happy to be able to raise funds for charities in this way and it was a pleasure to present the cheque to the Mayor at the Gala Dinner.'
Charities to have benefited from the Great Homes Go-Karting Challenges in the past have included the new Ronald McDonald House at Basildon hospital where monies raised helped pay for equipment and furniture at a specially build property to house the parents of desperately sick children to enable them to be near the wards at all times.
Great Homes, which has developed family, retirement and commuter homes in Hadleigh, Great Yeldham and Stanford-le-Hope in Essex, a retirement complex for buyers of 55 years and over at Windsor Court, Singleton in Ashford, Kent, and is about to start a number of brand new projects, including a newly launched project in South Ockendon, is always acutely aware that construction traffic, building noise and mud on road surfaces is an inconvenience to local communities.
It is for this reason, the team always tries to give something back to the community that has had to experience the intrusion, and hope that one of the best ways is to raise much needed funds for local charities such as the Ronald McDonald House.
'We enjoyed organising the 2006 Go-Karting Challenge enormously and hope by raising funds for charities through events like this we are giving something back to the local community,' says David Sparks.
For further information on the Great Homes Go-Karting Challenge or its brand new project in South Ockendon, Essex, contact the company on 01375 484420, or for its retirement apartments development at Windsor Court, Singleton in Ashford, Kent, contact the sales centre on freephone 0800 0288177. Great Homes Limited's website can be visited at www.greathomesltd.co.uk
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