Local hi-tech company sponsors Virgin Media’s
Big Ride 2007
Ed Micklewright to do 77-mile lap from Lancaster to
Buxton

Knowsley-based EPoS technology company, Cybertill Limited, has pledged its sponsorship to a major charity event being organised by Virgin Media with the assistance of Virgin Unite, the independent charitable arm of the Virgin Group.

The Big Ride 2007 is an endurance cycle ride, during which 3 teams of 8 riders from various parts of the Virgin Media business will cover 500 miles in 5 days. They will set off from Glasgow on Monday 24th September and complete the circuit in the evening of Friday 28th September with their arrival at Virgin Media’s central London offices.

To demonstrate that Cybertill’s support is more than just financial, the company’s Sales Manager, Ed Micklewright, will be joining one of the teams on the 77-mile lap on Wednesday 26th September. Departing in the early morning from Lancaster, the team will call in at Virgin Media’s Manchester Call Centre in Wythenshawe, and will ride into Buxton at the end of the day.

The Virgin Media cyclists hope to raise £50,000 for three Virgin Unite partners based in the UK and Africa: Foyer, Starfish and Pride ‘n Purpose (see below).

The Virgin Media business sells mobile and fixed line telephony, TV and broadband services. It operates in 100+ ‘shops within shops’ in Virgin Megastores nationwide.

Since its acquisition by NTL Telewest last year, its strategy has been to develop a chain of stand-alone stores. Its first eight stores are located at Lakeside Thurrock, Southend, Gateshead, MerryHill,,Croydon,Basingstoke, Middlesbrough and Hull,.

Each store uses specialist point-of-sale software from Cybertill, running on J2 920 touchscreen computers supplied by J2 Retail Systems.

The Three Charities

• The UK Foyer network has grown to over 130 local Foyers since its launch in 1992. Together, they support more than 10,000 homeless 16 to 25 year-olds each year, giving them a chance to realise their full potential. They enable young people at risk to escape the ‘no home - no job - no home’ cycle by delivering a holistic service that integrates accommodation with training, job search, personal support and motivation.

• Starfish Great Hearts Foundation is an international development charity, aiming to bring life, hope and opportunity to children in southern Africa who have been orphaned or made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS.

• Pride ‘n Purpose is the community wing of Ulusaba, Sir Richard Branson's Private Game Reserve, located within the Sabi Sands. Pride 'n Purpose is a non-profit development fund committed to improving the lives of disadvantaged communities in and adjacent to the Sands.

Ed Micklewright would welcome sponsorship of his 77-mile ride, and can be contacted at ed.micklewright@cybertill.co.uk.