Trigon Hotels cycled the distance from Cork to Dublin and back during a six-hour spinathon in Cork City Centre last Friday. The event raised over €1,000 for Cope Foundation.
Hotel team members took to static bikes on Harley Street which were kindly given by UCC’s Mardyke Arena. They travelled 576km and burned a combined total of more than 14,000 calories.
A team of 40 people were involved in the event including cyclists and bucket collectors. The Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr. Colm Kelleher was among the supporters to cheer on the participants.
Lord Mayor, Cllr. Colm Kelleher said “It is wonderful to see this collaboration with Trigon Hotels and Cope Foundation and Ability@work. Inclusivity is imperative in the workplace and it is great to see Trigon Hotels foster such a close relationship with the Cope Foundation. It has been challenging for charities to have fundraising events since the pandemic began due to not being able to organise and host their usual events and so it is really important to support charities and companies when they do organise events.”
Cope Foundation is Trigon Hotels’ charity of choice for 2021. The organisation supports over 2,800 children and adults with an intellectual disability and or/autism across Cork city and county to live, ‘Your Life, Your Way’.
Aaron Mansworth, Managing Director for Trigon Hotels said that they have been working in partnership with Cope Foundation and its Ability@Work programme since last year. He said, “We are very proud of our collaboration with Cope Foundation as it allows us to create job opportunities for people supported by the organisation. Today is about having fun but it is also about starting a conversation about inclusivity. I know that the money raised today will fund exciting projects that support people to live life their way and continue to support a more inclusive workplace.”
The Mardyke Arena at UCC supplied the spin bikes, Wayne Falvey, Marketing Manager said, “The Mardyke Arena UCC are delighted to collaborate with Trigon Hotels and support the spinathon in aid of Cope Foundation. This fundraiser will not only help raise much needed funds but it will create further awareness of the great work being done at Cope Foundation and it will assist in achieving a more inclusive Cork.”
Jo-Anne Higgins, Communications & Fundraising Manager from the Cope Foundation said: “Trigon Hotels share Cope Foundation’s vision for a more inclusive Cork, so our collaboration makes a lot of sense. The Spinathon is one of a number of fundraising initiatives developed by Trigon Hotels as part of the partnership and we are delighted to be working together to raise funds and awareness about inclusive practices. Partnerships such as this are integral to our work in the Cork community”.
