Charity bike ride funds benefit holiday centre

Funds raised by a charity bike ride completed by a former High Sheriff of Derbyshire, alongside his late brother, is being used to spruce up Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre.

Mike Copestake, who is one of the founders and former chairs of Marketing Derby, undertook the 100-mile ride from Derby to Skegness, with his brother Jeremy, as well as Dominic Hughes, back in October 2022.

They raised thousands of pounds from their efforts, which was distributed to worthy causes via Foundation Derbyshire, a charitable giving organisation which promotes philanthropy in the county by connecting up donors and causes.

Out of the money raised, £6,000 was donated to Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre, which is now using the money to give its Victorian building in the seaside resort of Skegness much-needed paint repairs.

The centre gives five-day stays to children who are nominated because they might not otherwise get a holiday.

Alan Grimadell, chair of the Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre, said: “We are so grateful to Mike, his brother Jeremy and Dominic for undertaking this mammoth bike ride to Skegness, which has benefited our charity so much.

“Running a charity such as ours incurs all sorts of expenses, such as energy and food bills which need to be paid.

“The money raised from the bike ride and distributed through Foundation Derbyshire is being used to undertake vital paintwork to our centre so it can be in good condition ready for the next busload of children to arrive.”

As well as the holiday centre, child exploitation charity Safe and Sound has also benefitted from cash raised by the ride.

The rest of the money is being used to set up a project giving prizes to primary schools judged to have the best careers and aspirations programmes.

Just a few months after completing the ride, Jeremy, who was a lawyer at Derby City Council, died suddenly in January.

Paying tribute to his brother, Mike, who is vice-chairman of the Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre, said: “Jeremy was one of those people everybody knew.

“There were 700 people at his funeral in Ashbourne. He was a remarkable guy, loved by lots of people, with a big heart.”

Foundation Derbyshire chairman Oliver Stephenson said: “We’d like to congratulate Mike on his amazing bike ride to Skegness which successfully raised so much money for such a worthy cause.”

Oliver, who visited the Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre himself when he was High Sheriff, added: “I thought it was the most incredible place. We had lunch with the children when we were there. They were having the time of their life. They were just really loving it and it was a true holiday for them. It was so heart-warming.”