Central England Co-op colleague cycling Suffolk in September in aid of Cancer Research

Posted by stephanie forrester | Published: 18/08/2020

A colleague from a food store in Suffolk is saddling up for a challenge this September to raise vital funds for Cancer Research UK.

Mark Punchard, who works at Central England Co-op’s Halesworth Food Store is aiming to bike 300 miles over the month in memory of his sister.

Mark, aged 60, was inspired by the COVID-19 lockdown to get healthier, particularly as he was in the vulnerable category for the virus and was forced to shield.

Determined to return to work with improved fitness once restrictions were lifted, he decided to try cycling and started small…. at first pedalling under a mile each day.

Mark said: “I now cycle between 10 and fifteen miles each day, which is a big achievement considering my age and health. I read about the Cancer Research UK Cycle 300 challenge and decided to raise money in memory of my sister to help other people suffering from this dreadful disease.” Mark’s sister, Sadie died in January aged just 52.

Anyone who would like to help Mark raise vital funds for this great cause in the Cycle 300 challenge can make a donation at https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/marks-cycle-300-fundraising-page-208

Notes to editors

Picture caption: Mark Punchard who works at the Central England Co-op Food Store in Halesworth, will be cycling 300 miles in aid of Cancer Research UK

About Central England Co-operative

Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK with interests in food, funeral, floral and property investment.

Co-operatives have always been there for their communities; they were formed to protect them and help them flourish. 

Our 7,900 colleagues who serve Members and customers work hard to ensure that co-operative values, principles and spirit flow through everything we do to help support and improve our local communities.

Owned by hundreds of thousands of Members, we have over 430 trading outlets across 16 counties including West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. 

We are proud of our reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.

We invest a percentage of our trading profit into local communities through our Community Dividend Fund scheme, have donated over £1.3 million to our corporate charity partner Dementia UK and also operate a pioneering food redistribution partnership with FareShare Midlands so unsold food goes to those in need.

Visit www.centralengland.coop for more information or follow us on Facebook or Twitter using @mycoopfood

Press office contacts: Rob Smyth and James Brindle

Phone - 01543 421390

Email - publicrelations@centralengland.coop