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Construction Industry Digs Deep |
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At a time when a recession has hit fundraisers hard and donations have been drying up in many cases, the construction industry has reached deeper into its pockets than most. The thirty eight construction industry teams who took part in the COINS 3 Peaks Challenge in May have now collected nearly £250,000 for the projects supported by the COINS Foundation. The impact of the recession on communities in Africa is that overall funding is down by over 3 billion Rand. The achievement of the construction industry this year means that the project work of the COINS Foundation can continue uninterrupted.
This year, the donations were particularly well earned by the construction teams. Conditions on the first mountain, Ben Nevis (1,334 metres), were treacherous; snow blizzards above 900 metres made the event more challenging than ever. For the first time in the history of the COINS 3 Peaks Challenge, it was too dangerous for teams to continue to the summit.
However, all the teams completed the three mountains safely. The first team home was Stephensons Group in a
time of 17 hours 46 minutes, swiftly followed by Shepherd Construction (18 hours 8 minutes) and Pinset Masons (18 hours 56 minutes). Twenty teams successfully completed the challenge in less than twenty four hours this year.
Larry Sullivan, President of the COINS Foundation and COINS Chairman, thanked all the teams for re-doubling
their efforts to take part this year and raising funds at a time where the industry is still largely reeling from the impact of the credit crunch. He assured all participants that the COINS Foundation receives strong guidance from patrons including Lord Joel Joffe, Paul Collier (author of Bottom Billion) and Jeremy Hunt MP, and that 100% of the money they raised would be going to incredibly worthwhile projects building schools, hospitals and homes in Africa.
Ric Law, COINS Foundation CEO, echoed Larry’s thanks and explained further that the COINS Foundation is all
about construction but that the legacy is not the buildings themselves but thriving, sustainable communities. |
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