A Burnham-On-Sea teenager and his friend are set to to cycle from John O’Groats to Lands End to raise money for a special trip to South Africa where they will be helping underprivileged children.
Jack Bennett and his friend Daniel Wright, who are both 17 and studying a BTEC National Diploma in Sports and Exercise Science at Bridgwater College, will travel to Port Elizabeth in South Africa next March.
They will be working with underprivileged youngsters, developing sport within the local community.
Jack explained to Burnham-On-Sea.com this week: “All the children we will be working with will probably have no experience whatsoever of a coaching session. Our BTEC group know how important sport is in our lives and we really want to let the underprivileged children experience how great sport is. The trip will also allow us to develop our coaching skills and gain a real insight to sport in South Africa.”
“Within the trip, we will be coaching the children from the townships in a range of sports including football, cricket and hockey. We will also be able to help organise a community sports event for the children from township schools whilst we are there.”
“In addition to this, we will have the chance to visit one of the orphanages and work with the children there. With this orphanage, we will be taking the children to the nearest bowling centre where they will be financially catered for with the money we fund raise. We will have an opportunity to coach within local schools and work with their Centre of Excellence, which is aimed at raising opportunities for gifted children in the townships.”
“This is a fantastic opportunity for us to experience another culture and contribute towards a struggling community. In preparation for the trip, we intend to raise money to take the orphanage children out on a day trip, to provide food for all children at the sports tournament, and to provide local community schools with much-needed equipment.”
“This money raised will allow the children to keep the sports equipment when we go. If the children can keep the equipment it will mean that they will have a greater opportunity in seeing how sport can be so vital and important to their lives.”
“In order to raise money, we are cycling unaided from John O’Groats to Lands End at the beginning of August, a distance of 963 miles. We will begin on August 2nd and hope to finish on August 16th.”
“We have been training consistently for the past few months and we believe we are more than fit enough for the challenge. We plan to complete the trip within 14 days, averaging around eighty miles a day.”
He added: “We are passionate about our charity, the Umzingisi Project, and we want to make a difference to those who do not have the sporting equipment we take for granted. We are fully prepared and excited at the prospect of starting the trip.”
Jack and Daniel – who have been sponsored by Highbridge’s Skidmarx Cycles – are seeking other supporters and can be contacted by email. Jack is available here and Daniel can be reached here.
