Cyclists from East London Rugby Club raised over £7,000 in a charity bicycle ride, writes Gary Bird
Three past and present chairs of East London Rugby Club joined a South Africa Rugby World Cup winner to help raise more than £7,000 in a charity bicycle ride on 17th August.
Nick Bracken, President and past chair of the club in Memorial Park, West Ham, arranged the 85-mile trip through East Anglia in aid of The Atlas Foundation, which helps children move towards a better future through the sport of rugby.
The Foundation has already supported more than 50,000 children across five continents and raised more than £1 million. Other East London RFC members riding alongside Nick were current club co-chair and former club captain Nick Parrott, and former chair and Honorary Life VicePresident Simon Crick.
The East London group were joined by Jannie du Plessis, the Springbok prop who won 70 caps for his country between 2007 and 2015 including a winner’s medal in Rugby World Cup 2007, and others from the Silver Hippos Rugby Football Club, which Mr Bracken founded.
In 2018, Nick and the Silver Hippos visited one of the Atlas Foundation’s projects in Cape Town, South Africa. During this visit, they met the Foundation’s founder, former England rugby star Jason Leonard, as well as the England rugby team.
Inspired by what they saw, Nick and the Silver Hippos have supported the Foundation ever since, collecting more than £85,000 in total. Jason Leonard recorded a special video message for the group thanking them for their efforts.
Nick, born and raised in Plaistow and a former Newham police borough commander and enforcement and safety director at Newham Council, said: “Having seen the great work The Atlas Foundation does, we are proud to be able to arrange this annual cycle ride to support them. I thank everyone who took part and those who donated generously.”
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