Facing the Loneliest Road
Dan Sullivan, MD of DoorCo, has signed up to cycle the USA route of the We Mind & Kelly Matters challenge, The Loneliest Road tour, starting on 24 September.
Dan commented: “We Mind & Kelly Matters is a charity close to my heart. In the early days of DoorCo, I used to speak to Kelly Hewitt almost on a daily basis when she worked for The Glazerite Group.
“When we heard Kelly had chosen to take her own life following her struggles with mental health, both Jayne and I were devasted, and when John Hewitt, Kelly’s father, announced he was setting up a charity in her name to help break the stigma around mental health and prevent suicide, we swore we would do all we could to support.
“We Mind & Kelly Matters became DoorCo’s nominated charity. We launched a pink door range in 2020 that donates a proportion of the slab sales to the charity and have supported and sponsored other events, like their gala dinner last year, as well as internal fundraising with the DoorCo team.
“When the cycling challenge was announced, it was something I wanted to get involved with,” he continued.
“The ride is split into two parts. The first leg, which starts on 10 September (World Suicide Prevention day) will see 12 Kelly’s Heroes cyclists travel approximately 1,900 miles and over 91,500ft climbing from Spain, through France and Germany cycling to reach Sendenhorst in Germany in 10 days.
“I am taking part in the second USA leg, which starts on 24 September. I will be part of a team of 12 Kelly’s Heroes cycling 3,343 miles and climbing 145,427ft in total over a 17-day period, starting in Newark (in the US) and finishing on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco on the 10 October – World Mental Health Day.
“Our overall goal is to reach a total of 52,000 miles which is the distance it would take to go around the world twice – synonymous to the mental wellbeing ideology ‘ask twice’. We want to break the stigma and raise as much awareness for mental health as possible, because is ‘OK not to be OK’. My aim is to raise £10,000 from this ride so any amount you are able to donate in support of the challenge will be hugely appreciated.
“Donations can be made via https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/daniel-sullivan16 and you can follow my progress on and during the build up to the ride on the DoorCo social media channels – LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.”
For more information about We Mind & Kelly Matters and the Kelly’s Heroes The Loneliest Road Tour 2002, visit: https://wemindandkellymatters.org.uk/
