The BIG bike ride - Land's End to John O'Groats

Some of you may already know that I'm cycling from Lands End to John O'Groats from 5th to 20th of May.
  I'm cycling with a friend of mine Rob Dentry who is 14 yrs my junior and a whole heap fitter, however he currently has the scars of a paintball pellet to the bum which makes sitting on a saddle extremely painful :o)
  1000 miles of pure hell I'm sure, but it will be for charity. Before you all reach for your wallets I won't be asking for your money. What I would like you to do is to donate a bit of your time to a charity or worthwhile cause.
  You'll be able to track our progress via this blog. Please feel free to leave some words of encouragement :o)

I'm not asking for your money!!(but...Rob is!!)

Fed up with the usual "give me your money" approach to charity. An idea came to me one day of asking people to donate their time instead. I thought my idea was unique until I found a whole host of sites and organisations who do such a thing. One such organisation can be found at
  http://www.volunteering.org.uk
  You will be able to find your nearest centre. There are a large number of different ways of donating your time. So don't feel that you will be pushed into something you're not comfortable with. Alternatively you can give blood for the first time or help out at a local youth group. The options are endless. There is no time limit on when to do this. Anytime from now until whenever. Your help will always be invaluable.
  It would be fantastic if you could post a comment on the site to say what work you would like to do and how many hours you have donated so that we can keep a running total. If you prefer send an email info@donatemytime.org.uk . If everyone I know can donate even just 1hr of their time to a worthwhile cause or charity then we would have achieved a great deal.
  If you'd prefer the easy option of giving money, Rob is cycling to raise money for the Wiltshire Air Ambulance and you can visit his fundraising page here.
  Thanks
  Peter & Rob :o)

ABOUT DONATING

If you are thinking about donating your time you might like to know some of the process involved; You need to contact your local volunteer centre (follow the relevant links from the link on this site) who will then want you to make an appointment to see you to discuss your availability and the type of volunteer work you would like to do. Depending on what you agree, you may then have to meet with the person/company you are going to volunteer with. If the work you choose involves children, the elderly or vulnerable people a CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) check may be necessary. It may sound a bit long-winded but it is a fairly straightforward process. I am having my interview this Thursday so will know more after that and I will update you accordingly.

Please don’t feel obliged to volunteer your time; Peter doesn’t want anyone to feel they have to do it. It is also worth noting that you don’t have to do anything regularly, you can do ad-hoc volunteering and you really can volunteer to do almost anything including helping in other countries and you just volunteer the amount of time you can afford! Anne