FOUR childhood friends are today appealing for help to raise money for an Ipswich charity before they embark on a rally across Europe.The group, who knew each other from their school days in Ipswich, will be taking part in the Student Breakaway Rally, which will see more than 1,000 people driving across five countries in six days.
FOUR childhood friends are today appealing for help to raise money for an Ipswich charity before they embark on a rally across Europe.
The group, who knew each other from their school days in Ipswich, will be taking part in the Student Breakaway Rally, which will see more than 1,000 people driving across five countries in six days.
The mates - Nick Shirley, Joe Thomas, Duncan Harris and Jon Guest - will travel in a Volvo estate and take part in activities in Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia and Croatia along the 1,500-mile route.
They have funded the rally themselves but in return for sponsorship logos on their car, they are asking companies to donate money to St Elizabeth Hospice.
Mr Shirley, 24, of Broadlands Way, Rushmere, said: “We did the rally last year and raised £600 for charity. We don't want to take donations, we would rather they went straight to the charity.”
Mr Shirley, Mr Thomas and Mr Harris went to Northgate High School and Mr Guest attended Kesgrave High School, but was a family friend of Mr Shirley.
Mr Harris and Mr Guest have now moved away from the area, so the challenge is also a reunion.
Mr Shirley, an estimator for an engineering company, said: “We are all working now so it is an opportunity to get together and have a good time.
“We are all into our cars and it is a fun way to help out a good cause.”
Hundreds of cars will set off from Dover on Sunday, August 31 and finish in northern Croatia on September 5, raising thousands of pounds for the Teenage Cancer Trust as well the participants' personal charities.
If you would like to sponsor the group's car in return for a donation to charity, please call Nick Shirley on 01473 723319 or e-mail teamturret@googlemail.com
Are you doing a challenge for charity? Write to Your Letters, The Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or send us an e-mail to eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk
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