The BP Coast to Coast fundraising committee has chosen the Russell Anderson Foundation (RAF) as one of the charities to benefit from their 16th challenge in June, which will see participants cycle from Dumbarton to Aberdeen via Aberfeldy, Grantown on Spey and the Lecht!

BP's Gary McIntosh explains why RAF will benefit. "Having volunteered at one of the summer camps organised by the Russell Anderson Foundation and with my team redecorating one of the charity's skills hubs, I was able to see firsthand the work that they do in the local community in supporting children and their families, it was an easy decision to nominate the Foundation to potentially be one of the charities we could support as part of our annual Coast to Coast charity cycle.

"After sharing a video from the Foundation with the rest of the committee and discussing with them what the Foundation is doing in the community not only on the sports front in the camps, but also in the skills hubs in schools and teaching the children how they can make a nutritious meal for their families, the Coast to Coast committee were unanimous in agreeing that the Russell Anderson Foundation would be the Committee Charity choice for C2C16.

"The ethos of the foundation is about social mobility and trying their best to give every child a chance to be the best that they can aligns with our own desire to support social mobility in the areas where we operate.

"It will be great on the last day of the cycle when we reach the top of a small hill, called the Lecht, to take a moment to not only get our breath back but to think about the difference we can make to our local community by raising as much money as possible for the foundation and also for our other three chosen charities. We will also have the knowledge that the rest of the ride that day is downhill! Louise and Russell from the foundation are joining us for the ride and although it is a challenge I am sure they will have a lot of fun! Last year's challenge raised a phenomenal £159,817 for four charities so the challenge is for C2C16 to beat that!" RAF founder Russell added. "We were absolutely thrilled to learn that RAF had been chosen as one of the charities for this year's Coast to Coast Challenge and our heartfelt thanks go to BP for their support. For our sins, Louise from the Foundation and myself will be joining around seventy other cyclists in June, for what will be a challenging but enjoyable few days I'm sure, and obviously I would encourage everyone to support this extremely worthwhile campaign if they possibly can as we attempt to top last year's incredible total."

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