Leeds children’s “hospice heroes” raise over £42,000 in Race Across West Yorkshire, Forget Me Not children’s hospice’s charity business challenge

Leeds based corporate fundraisers from Fullers Foods International, AFP Digital, RSM UK and HSBC joined  fundraising teams from businesses all over Yorkshire at the Accu Stadium in Huddersfield to celebrate and hear the results of Forget Me Not children’s hospice’s Race Across West Yorkshire: The Ultimate Adventure.

The business charity challenge, inspired by the hit BBC show Race Across the World, saw 20 teams of two from local businesses race around six secret checkpoints, taking on challenges and trying to find their way around without their phones or their wallets, all under the watchful eye of a support crew and fleet provided by event sponsors RRG Toyota.

The teams began their quest at Bradley Wood Scout camp in Huddersfield where Forget Me Not’s CEO Gareth Pierce handed them a set of maps, a travelcard, snacks and drinks and a small amount of money to buy food. Each team had 12 hours to get around the six checkpoints which would be revealed throughout the day.

The first checkpoint was a dash over to Calderdale, for a visit to Forget Me Not’s charity shop in Hebden Bridge to buy a mascot for their team. Next stop was the picturesque village of Haworth where team members had to paint portraits of each other, before finding their way to The Bingley Pub in Horbury where they took on a challenge to score 101 points with six darts. Teams had to navigate back to Calderdale for their fourth checkpoint, a boating challenge at Shibden Hall and then head to Huddersfield for a football golf challenge at Bradley Golf Club. Throughout the day teams collected letters of a password at each checkpoint which they had to assemble to solve an anagram reading “We are hospice heroes” at the final checkpoint at Russell House, Forget Me Not’s children’s hospice in Huddersfield. 

Gathering at the stadium in Huddersfield to share their stories and hear the winners were team members and supporters from AFP Digital, Fullers Foods International, RSM UK, HSBC, FMG, The RRG Group,  Crowther and Shaw, YES Energy Solutions, Eximia Broking, Accu, Leach, Joda Freight, Morrisons, Ossett Brewery, ASG Produmax, Holdson, Colourcube Automotive Accident Repair Centre, The Navigation Tavern,Muslin Hall Garage and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Business Board.

The teams heard from Steve Lord, whose son Ethan often spent time at Russell House following a diagnosis of a rare degenerative condition, aged 9. Ethan sadly died in 2025. Steve praised the outstanding care given by the staff and shared how Ethan’s twin sister Madi continues to benefit from the charity’s sibling support work.

The combined fundraising total from all 20 teams is currently over £42,000 with donations still coming in from friends and colleagues of participants.

The winners of the Race Across West Yorkshire was the “Lost and Loving it!” team, Lucy Haigh and Chloe Brittan, from Huddersfield based refrigeration and air conditioning company Crowther and Shaw. In second place was “Morrisons Movers ”, Wendy Hey and Ashley Hudson from supermarket giant Morrisons and the “A Thousand Miles” team Alexandra Sutton & Jodie Humphreys from Sheffield based Eximia Broking finished in third.

Morley based AFP Digital’s team Ben Newall and Joseph Smith won a special prize for the best team name with their IT themed name  “Error 404- Team not found” and the intrepid Leeds based team from HSBC were awarded the top paddling prize after team mates Nicola Thacker and Greg Caiger completed the boating challenge at Shibden Hall Boating Lake in the fastest time.

Greg Caiger, Regional Manager at HSBC Commercial Banking said,

“ The Race Across West Yorkshire has been a humbling and gratifying experience! We met some amazing people, including many Forget Me Not supporters on the journey round West Yorkshire , all in aid of a fantastic cause.”

Clive Mattimoe, General Manager at event sponsors RRG Toyota Huddersfield, said,

“This year’s Race Across West Yorkshire was a heart-warming opportunity to remember and realise that there is a lot of happiness and kindness all around us. Watching the genuine joy of all our participants, the smiles on their faces as they came through the checkpoints and hearing their stories of the help they received along the way from complete strangers was a real tonic.”

All 20 teams were great ambassadors for Forget Me Not children’s hospice, raising awareness as well as money all across West Yorkshire. Everyone at RRG Toyota is delighted that the event was a roaring success and that we’ve created an opportunity  for the businesses who took part to raise a tidy sum towards Forget me Not’s vital work with families facing the most difficult times.”

Gareth Pierce , Forget Me Not chief executive said,

“We couldn’t be more grateful to all the teams who reached out across their contacts and networks for sponsorship in this year’s Race Across West Yorkshire. Their efforts in the weeks leading up to this event and the ‘purple wave’ we saw as teams wearing Forget Me Not shirts dashed around our communities, goes a long way to raising awareness about our work and the amazing difference it makes to families across the region, as well as much needed funds.

The hospice sector is in the middle of its biggest financial challenge in 20 years, but it’s much easier to navigate those challenges when you’ve got companies like RRG Toyota and our many business supporters standing shoulder to shoulder with us.

Of the £7 million we need to run our hospice and our services supporting babies and children with life-shortening conditions and their families across West Yorkshire, we must raise over 80% ourselves. So we rely on events like this, people like our lovely competitors, all their sponsors and the many, many people across our region who support us.”   

For more information about Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice please visit www.forgetmenotchild.co.uk