The annual Colliers International Bristol TRYathlon has been cancelled – but charity FareShare South West will still receive £5,000.
The global real estate advisory company will be donating the amount of money that the TRYathlon had been expected to raise for FareShare South West. In addition, the South West and South Wales office will be organising other ways of supporting the Bristol-based food redistribution charity as it extends its services to provide emergency food during the coronavirus pandemic.
Jo Edwards, head of Colliers International’s South West and South Wales office, which has been holding the TRYathlon since 2013, said: “Although this year’s TRYathlon has had to be cancelled we were determined to support our chosen charity FareShare South West, for which we had hoped to raise £5,000 by holding the event.
“Colliers International will now be making a donation of £5,000 to ensure FareShare South West receives funding at a time when they are having to cope with unprecedented demand as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.”
Nick Williams, director in the South West and South Wales office, who is responsible for organising the TRYathlon, added: “Members of staff will also be working on alternative ways of supporting the work of FareShare South West for the rest of this year.”
FareShare South West’s head of development, Phoebe Ruxton, said: “We are extremely grateful to everyone at Colliers International for their support at this time. It this is a big relief that the company has chosen to continue with this donation despite the TRYathlon cancellation.
“As you can imagine, our world has turned upside down in the last few days as we respond as fast as possible to the need for vital support. It means a huge amount to our team to have support and encouragement from our local community.”
She added that FareShare South West, which is an independent charity that is part of the FareShare UK network, was transitioning to a new model to deal with the new threat to food insecurity amongst the most vulnerable members of society.
“We are aiming to provide a bare minimum of food for 5,000 meals every day to the highest risk groups,” she said.
“We are absolutely determined not only to stay open but to level up our organisation as far as we possibly can to stop the very worst happening.
“This includes families and children going hungry, as they are already living on the breadline and have no budget to stockpile, and also isolated elderly people who already rely on meals being delivered to their homes and have no family, and homeless people who are facing a sharp reduction in the support services they rely on.”
FareShare South West is urging Bristol and South West businesses who want to make a contribution to its work to get in touch. Please email: [email protected]