BG Group, the global natural gas business, has announced that its annual BG Energy Challenge – UK event will take place in Stirling, Scotland, from the 5 to 8 July.
Once again UK companies within the energy industry will put their employees to the test in a bid to raise funds for CARE International and Sparks. Teams from across the sector will face two days of tough physical, mental and strategic challenges all in the aid of raising money for the chosen overseas development and children’s medical research charities.
Mark Carne, Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Europe, BG Group, said:
“Having taken part in last year’s event I know how tough it can be but also know just how rewarding the event is. We’ve set the bar high over the last ten years of running the BG Energy Challenge and this year we plan to raise it further with our largest participating field yet and aim to top the £200,000 raised in the UK last year.
The BG Energy Challenge has created a unique opportunity across our industry for people to come together outside our normal business, to have fun, to get to know each other and raise money for richly deserving causes. We are pleased to continue our long standing partnership with leading overseas development charity CARE International and are delighted to extend our fundraising to the benefit of Sparks, a children’s medical research charity focused on UK initiatives.”
Martin Johnson, Vice President of Sparks and 2003 World Cup winning England rugby captain said:
“We are delighted to be chosen as the UK charity alongside CARE International to benefit from the generous donations of the BG Energy Challenge 2007 - UK. Our mission is for all babies to be born healthy and stay healthy. Events like these help us to fund vital medical research which will hopefully allow the next generation to have the same opportunities that many of us have been able to enjoy. The support of organisations like BG is particularly important to Sparks because so much cutting edge paediatric research in the UK today depends on charities like Sparks rather than the public purse.”
Following the success of last year’s UK event held in Wales, this year’s Challenge will be bigger than ever. The BG Energy Challenge 2007 – UK, organised in collaboration with Challenger World, is expecting up to 60 corporate teams on the starting line in Stirling, each made up of five employees from all levels of the business. They will be challenged to work together to complete tasks as diverse as kayaking, orienteering and mountain biking to code breaking, bridge building and complex construction.
Whilst networking and challenging industry peers at the BG Energy Challenge 2007 - UK, the teams are committed to raising a minimum of £5,000 for charity. They will have the choice of donating all of their funds to one of the charities or can choose to split them equally between the two. Last year, total funds raised in the UK reached more than £200,000, bringing the total for the worldwide series to more than £2.5 million. Through its long standing relationship with BG Group, these funds have already directly benefited CARE International’s work with over 48 million disadvantaged people in 70 countries across the globe.
Geoffrey Dennis, CEO, CARE International, said:
“Our involvement with the BG Energy Challenge spans ten years, and its generous donations have made a real difference to the lives of people in the poorest countries in the world. CARE is all about creating lasting change and helping people to make a decent living for themselves and their families. Events such as the BG Energy Challenge are incredibly important to this work and we are delighted to be part of the UK 2007 event.”
The BG Energy Challenge series has been running worldwide since 1996. Events have been held in Brazil, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Trinidad & Tobago and the US, while further events are planned in Oman and India.
Those associated with the energy industry wishing to take part and help with the fundraising can apply online at:
www.bg-energychallenge.com. The deadline for registering an entry is Friday 25 May.
Notes to editors
BG Group
BG Group plc is a global natural gas business. Active on five continents in 25 countries, it operates four business segments - Exploration and Production, LNG, Transmission and Distribution and Power. BG Group seeks to support social and economic development in the communities where it does business by providing structured funding for community initiatives that match its skills transfer theme. For more information, visit www.bg-group.com
BG Group’s sponsorship portfolio is called Energy for life. The BG Energy Challenge series is one of four sponsorships that make up the Energy for life portfolio. For further information visit www.bg-group.com/about/sponsorship.htm
About CARE International
CARE International is one of the top three overseas development agencies in the world. We fight poverty and injustice in 70 countries, helping over 48 million people each year to find routes out of poverty. We are also recognised for our rapid response to emergencies. When disasters strike, we make sure that aid gets to where it is needed most. For more information, visit www.careinternational.org.uk.
About Sparks
Sparks is unique. It isn’t a single cause charity. Sparks is the only charity to fund cutting edge research across the whole spectrum of paediatric medicine. Working with doctors and scientists at leading universities and teaching hospitals across the UK, Sparks research work encompasses childhood cancers, childhood arthritis, meningitis, spina bifida, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, the risks associated with premature birth and many other conditions affecting babies and children in the early years of life. Sparks has already committed over £13 million to fund more than 165 research projects with the aim of giving more children the best of all starts in life…a healthy one.
About Intelligent Sport
Intelligent Sport® is the fastest growing team development concept, in the world - specifically designed for business. Its primary aim is to give companies and their key people, first hand experience of the Power of teamwork drawing on strategy, intellect & physical ability to teach the skills required for effective teamwork and to give them the inspiration to make a difference to their performance. For more information, visit www.intelligentsport.com
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