Passion for pies and pedal-power raises over £20,000 for the air ambulance.

At Prologis, doing the right thing is engrained in our culture and this ethos is something which extends beyond the office and into the everyday lives of our people. Many of our employees volunteer in their local communities in their spare time: some coach their local football team, some donate to the local food bank and others host charity events to raise money for worthy causes.
​
If you follow our website stories, you’ll already know that food and cycling are a real passion for many people who work within Prologis UK and, seven years ago, one team member, and his family, decided to combine these two elements and create a fundraising event which has now become a much-anticipated annual occasion.

Paul Weston, Senior Vice President at Prologis UK and his wife Oz, wanted to create an event which put the ‘fun’ in fundraising. As their friends owned a local company producing pies and with Paul’s love of cycling, the ‘Piecycle’ was born– a 41 mile charity cycle ride through the beautiful south Leicestershire countryside, culminating in a well-deserved pie and a pint in their local pub.

The ‘Piecycle’ has now been running for seven years and has grown from a group of 30 friends and family in year one to an oversubscribed list of 100 over the last 3 years. Since 2013, the event has raised money for the Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Warwickshire and Northamptonshire air ambulance and, little did the family know how important their choice of charity would be:

In 2016, Oz and Paul’s daughter Maddie fell from her horse and had to be taken to hospital by air ambulance. Fortunately, Maddie made a full recovery and was soon back in the saddle and the experience strengthened the couple’s resolve to continue raising money for the charity:

“We’ve always supported the air ambulance and never expected to call on its services,” Paul recalls. “The air ambulance provides a vital service for people living in rural areas and those involved in serious accidents where emergency trauma support can be the difference between a life saved and a life lost. When you consider that it’s a service funded entirely by public donations it does an incredible job.”

Over the past five years, the annual ‘Piecycle’ event has raised over £20,000 for the local air ambulance services of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Warwickshire and Northamptonshire and many of Paul’s colleagues and Prologis’ suppliers take part.

“I am so grateful for the support this event receives year after year,” Paul reflects. “In addition to the people who donate money and turn-up to cycle we owe a huge debt of gratitude to the many volunteers who give up their time to ensure the event is a success.”

This year alone, the Piecycle raised in excess of £5,000: enough to pay for three flights by the air ambulance.