£1,000 was donated to St. Ann’s Hospice near Manchester, which cares for and helps around 3,000 patients (over the age of 16) and their families and carers every year, who are affected by cancer and non-cancer life limiting illnesses.

Children with Cancer UK received a donation of £500 through Easi-Drive’s sponsorship of John Ward, from their IT provider, who ran the London Marathon in April. The charity funds life-saving research into the causes, prevention and treatment of childhood leukemia and other childhood cancers, and works to protect young lives through essential welfare and campaigning programmes.

£500 was also donated to Chestnut Tree House Children’s Hospice, who staged a ‘golfathon’ to raise money for the only children’s hospice in Sussex. The organisation cares for children and young adults from 0-19 years of age with progressive life-limiting and life-threatening illnesses from all over the county.

And finally, £2700 went to Help for Heroes, which raises money to support members of the Armed Forces who have been wounded in the service of their country. This donation was made through sponsorship of an annual charity bike ride by Lombard Finance.

Easi-Drive’s Simon Bellamy said: “There are so many deserving charities and community groups out there; we are delighted to be able to help a small selection that resonates with the team here at Easi-Drive and our customers.”

The ‘wheelsforgood’ community fund was created by Easi-Drive’s Managing Director Simon Bellamy in 2009, to give something back to the community in which the business operates.

The award-winning company, which celebrates its 10^th birthday this year, donated £60,000 in 2010 to a number of ‘wheel’ based projects, which ranged  from buying a new wheelchair wheel for a 2016 Paralympic hopeful to donating £10,000 to the  Motor and Allied Trades Benevolent Fund (BEN).

Commenting on the launch of the 2011 fund, Simon Bellamy said: “The wheelsforgood fund is unique in that it supports worthy causes related to the motor industry, wheels or transport. There is a deep rooted culture across the business to help individuals and projects within our industry and local community, wheelsforgood gives us a point of focus to company giving.”

Bellamy continued: “It’s been great to see the difference wheelsforgood made to individuals, groups and projects in 2010. We see this as a long term commitment and a key part of our corporate strategy, and are delighted to be pledging £60,000 once again this year.”

Some of the beneficiaries in 2010 included the Motor and Allied Trades Benevolent Fund (BEN); the Brain and Spinal Injury Centre (BASIC); IAM & Stockport Advanced Motorists ‘Skill for Life’ driving course; Fix-It UK, the Wigan-based charity that runs vocational training courses in motor mechanics for disadvantaged 14-19-year-olds; and Olympic wheelchair rugby hopeful, Myles Pearson.   

Sue Blaylock, founder of local community group Wythenshawe Wheelers, who offer cycling to people with disabilities, a key beneficiary of the fund, said: “Since partnering with Easi-Drive, Wythenshawe Wheelers has really taken on a new dimension. The donations have so far included some fantastic new specialised equipment including a KMX Kart and Quad bike, which make a huge difference to the enjoyment of all our members, and the much-needed refurbishment of our toilet block, making it clean, smart and accessible for all. We are so grateful to Easi-Drive for its commitment – and are excited about the next project which will provide us with a van to take our services out to those that find it difficult to reach us.”

Rising star Myles Pearson, 17, who plays wheelchair rugby and is expected to represent Great Britain in the 2016 Paralympics said: “I want to say a huge thank you to Easi-Drive for its help. I used the donation to buy a new wheel for my wheelchair. It meant I could compete in some crucial competitions last year, which were essential to my preparations for 2016.” 

Applying for an award is easy, simply complete the online application form on the home page, telling us how you’d like us to help.

Easi-Drive representatives attended a drinks and dinner event at Manchester’s Vermilion and Cinnabar, to raise money for the charity.  The event was attended by over 150 guests from the legal and insurance industries on 25 November 2010.

Guests and event sponsors raised £5000 on the night, but this was then doubled by our very own Simon Bellamy who had pledged to match the amount raised.

A spokesperson at BASIC commented: “At BASIC we are delighted to have such fantastic support from everyone who took part in the fundraising activity. Their support will help make a difference to the lives of hundreds of people who have sadly sustained a brain or spinal injury.”

BASIC is based in Manchester, however it supports those who have suffered brain injury or a neurological diagnosis at a local and national level. Support and assistance is given to those who are recovering from severe head injury, brain hemorrhage, brain tumour and other brain related conditions such as stroke and brain cancer.

Easi-Drive has chosen the charity as a beneficiary of its WheelsforGood fund, which was created by Managing Director Simon Bellamy, in order to give something back to the industry in which the business operates.

BEN was formed in 1905 to help people who work or have worked in the motor industry and their dependant family members. The charity provides practical help, support, advice and friendship to more than 15,000 men and women and their families every year. In addition BEN provides a home to over 350 individuals who reside in one of its four residential centres in the UK.

Simon Bellamy, Managing Director at Easi-Drive said of the donation: “Having grown a successful business within the motor industry over the last 10 years I feel immensely proud to be making this donation to BEN and supporting the work they do.”

Nigel Williams, BEN’s Commercial Development Manager said: “We are extremely grateful to Easi-Drive for their very generous donation, which will help make a real difference to those people in our industry who are in need of support.”

Easi-Drive encourages applications for funding from charities and community groups, please submit an application through the web site.

The company, based on Sharston Industrial Estate, has chosen the club as a beneficiary of its community giving programme, wheelsforgood.

It has pledged to purchase key equipment and improve the general facilities at the South Manchester club, which focuses on offering cycling to people with a disability.

wheelsforgood was the brainchild of managing director, Simon Bellamy and looks to reward charities and good causes in the areas in which the business operates.

To mark the launch of the partnership, 13 workers from Easi-Drive swapped their day jobs for a 50-mile bike ride from Manchester to Chester recently, pedalling up an impressive £1,200 in sponsorship money!

The funds raised will be used to purchase a children’s quad bike. In addition Easi-Drive has just purchased a KMX Tornado bike for the club. Similar to a BMX model, the KMX is designed for thrill seekers.

Wythenshawe Wheelers owns over 70 specially adapted bikes and runs four sessions a week from its facility in South Manchester. Members travel from as far a-field as Chester, Crewe and Bury to the club at Wythenshawe Park.

On the partnership, Sue Blaylock, founder of Wythenshawe Wheelers said: “We are so grateful to Easi-Drive for its commitment – we are in desperate need of new equipment including safety gear such as helmets and are keen to improve our basic facilities such as bathrooms. Its support will transform the whole experience for our members. I would like to extend personal thanks to the group of 13 who took part in the gruelling bike ride recently.”

Simon Bellamy from Easi-Drive added: “This is such a fantastic cause for us to be associated with and we are delighted to have joined forces with Sue and her team of volunteers. The service it provides is truly inspiring and really makes a difference to people’s lives – we have seen it first hand.

He continued: “The employees are really getting behind this cause and there are a number of fundraising activities planned over the next 6 months including a walk up Kinder Scout in the Peak District.”

Easi-Drive encourages applications for funding from charities and community groups across the region. If you are interested in applying, please visit the website at http://www.wheelsforgood.com/ for more information or to submit an application.

Children between the ages of 12 and 16 will travel up to 30 kilometres to the school which has been built in the Lenkisem region. The facility officially opened its doors a couple of weeks ago and has already started teaching year 1 students.

The build houses two classrooms and a teacher’s room. Positioned next to the school is a catholic mission with a number of dormitories, where pupils will be able to board – this facility is vital as children in the area travel such huge distances to get to school.

Linda and Rod Bellamy of Easi-Drive are due to travel to Kenya in October of this year for the official opening ceremony of the school.

Commenting Linda said: “This really has been the most fantastic project to be involved in – a complete eye opener. We have watched the school being built over the last 18 months. With every visit we never fail to be impressed by the children’s and volunteers’ spirit.

She continued: “We are very much looking forward to the trip later in the year to join the locals to celebrate the official opening.

Myles who is studying for a BTec in Sports Science at the Cardinal Newman College, Preston, plays wheelchair rugby for the West Coach Crash team and has been earmarked by GB Wheelchair rugby for the 2016 Paralympics.

A natural sportsman, Myles only started playing rugby 18 months ago. Before that he was an avid tennis player and was ranked 7th in the UK and 21st in the World in his age category.

A delighted Myles said I want to say a huge thank you to Easi-Drive for its help. I am using the money to buy a new wheel for my wheelchair! It means that I can now compete in the rugby league final at the end of June at Stoke Mandeville – which I am terribly excited about.”

Commenting on the donation, Simon Bellamy MD of the Sunday Times Fast Track 100 listed company said: “Myles is inspirational and we are delighted to be in the position to be able to assist him. There are so many talented rising stars out there who battle against training costs – we need to do more to be able to support them and help them achieve their goals.”

Easi-Drive’s wheelsforgood fund aims to provide monetary donations for projects in and around the communities in which the business operates – to find out more or to apply for a donation please visit, http://www.wheelsforgood.com/

The charity, based on the Rosebridge Industrial Estate, in Springview, runs vocational training courses in motor mechanics for disadvantaged 14-19-year-olds. They were left devastated in November last year when thieves took all of their tools, specialist equipment and even the playstation the students had raised money for.

Simon Bellamy, MD of Wythenshawe-based Easi-Drive heard about their plight and decided to help out.

Ian Tomlinson, Programme Director at Fix-It UK, said: “It’s great for our students to see that life’s not all bad and that there are some caring people out there.”

Stu McAndrew, Business Development Manager for Easi-Drive, who went down to the charity to present the cheque this week, said: “I was really impressed with the set up and the great opportunities they offer local youngsters.”

He continued: “It is easy to forget what it’s like to be a teenager trying to find your way in life. Yet here, through the development of their mechanics and qualifications programme, Ian and his team are doing a fantastic job of giving these youngsters skills and belief and opening doors which might otherwise be closed to them.”

The money, which came from the Company’s community giving scheme – wheelsforgood – will be used to replace some of the stolen equipment.

Easi-Drive’s wheelsforgood initiative distributes £60,000 annually to good causes across the UK. To apply go to http://www.wheelsforgood.com/

The company has linked up with the IAM & Stockport Advanced Motorists to invite applications for fully funded places on the IAM ‘Skill For Life’ driving course, which covers all types of road situations including motorway driving and helping students to develop driver skills in anticipating and dealing with a potential accident situation.

Research by the road safety charity has shown that young drivers aged between 17 and 26, were the most ‘at risk’ group behind the wheel, but financial constraints on them meant that there was a poor sign up rate for their ‘Skill for life’ courses.

So when charity bosses saw the launch of Easi-Drive’s WheelForGood campaign – a £60,000 bursary fund created by co-founder Simon Bellamy to give something back to the community in which the business operates – in the local press, they applied for funding.

Simon Bellamy said: “We are keen to promote road safety and good driving practice, so this was an ideal opportunity to help young people’s skills behind the wheel in the town where I was born and grew up. And as wheels are at the heart of what we do, it seems fitting that our corporate giving strategy should be based around this theme.”

Perry Freeman, Chairman of Stockport Advanced Motorists, said: “We are really pleased of the support Simon and the money he is donating on behalf of Easi-Drive to put 20 young drivers through the course, especially as his business centres on cars and driving.

“The course gives younger drivers a valuable insight into driving at a much higher skill level. Advanced Driving gives the driver a great deal of extra knowledge about how to deal with difficult road situations.

“For example, maybe, you’ve even been driving for a little while, but do you know all the hidden hazards on the motorway? Would you know how to deal with a ‘tailgater’ in a safe and efficient manner so as not to be pushed into making an unsafe manoeuvre? How would you react after the incident?”

Places on the course, which normally costs £139 each, are now available on a first come first served basis.

In addition, after passing the IAM Skill for life course, most insurance companies will offer young drivers upto 25 per cent off their insurance.

Applicants must be aged between 17 and 26 and hold a full UK driving licence, have had a minimum of three months driving experience and have regular access to a car during the week and at weekends. The car must be taxed, MoTd and insured and the driver must have a license appropriate to that class of vehicle.

Courses are run from the Old Rectory in Stockport (Home of Stockport Advanced Motorists) for approximately six sessions. Practical on the road sessions are done in the students own car with a qualified ‘Observer’ (Driving Coach).

Anyone wishing to apply for a place on the course should apply in writing to info@stockportadvancedmotorists.org.uk including their name, age, address, and why they want to do the course.