Chris Cullen | Principal Equipment Engineer, NXP Hazel Grove, United Kingdom
Chris Cullen, a cycling enthusiast at the Hazel Grove site, was hoping to convince one or two colleagues to join him in a long-distance ride for charity. By the day of the ride, his team was 84 people strong and had £17,000 (USD 28,000) in sponsorships.
The 60-mile (96.5-km) Manchester-to-Blackpool charity ride is the biggest cycling event in the northwest of England. Chris had done the ride once before and, this year, was planning to ride for The Christie Hospital Manchester, one of Europe's largest cancer centers and an international leader in cancer research.
He started talking to a few colleagues about the idea, and, by the end of the first day, 14 people were on board. One thing led to another, and pretty soon it was a formal campaign, complete with a team name - NXP for Christies or NXP4C - and a planning committee.
Hoping to enlist 40 people and raise £5,000 (USD 8,000), the NXP4C committee found a web site designed for fundraising (JustGiving.com) and created a page to receive donations. They developed a colorful team logo and, working with funds donated by NXP, put up posters, sent out emails, and published an article in Let's Go! magazine. They printed t-shirts, coordinated support crews, got a photographer to donate time on race day, and even scheduled an appearance from the Christie's mascot.
In the end, NXP4C, with its 84 riders and sponsorships totaling £17,000 (USD 28,000), accounted for 9% of all the funds raised for Christie's that day.
“It was something I'll never forget,” says Chris. “Spectators cheered everyone on for the full 60 miles. It didn't matter if you'd finished in three hours or eight - you'd become part of something special.”
The next day, back at work, NXP4C was still riding high, even if there were a few complaints about sore backsides. But, as Chris puts it, “If we're talking about a future without cancer, then a sore behind seems a small price to pay.”
NXP4C rode again in the 2009 event. They recruited roughly 25% of the Hazel Grove workforce, for a team of 126 people, and have commitments to meet their fundraising target of £10,000 (USD 16,000).