By William Coleman
Charity is the one thing that unites people from all walks of life and from all round the world. Year in and year out companies make charitable donations and sponsor race teams, athletes and all manner of funds and schemes. One company who have gone above and beyond that are Caravan Guard who are celebrating their 10th year of charitable support one of Britain’s most decorated Paralympians.
The Halifax based caravan insurance specialists, Caravan Guard have been a proud sponsor of Halifax’s very own world champion Paralympian Hannah Cockroft for a staggering 10 years.
Hannah Cockroft has a list of accomplishments that could fill a trophy cabinet and has not let anything stop her from achieving the highest heights of any athlete. The five time Paralympic champion and 10 time world champion was presented with this year’s cheque for £1,000 during her visit to see Caravan Guard staff and some of their children.
During Hannah’s visit to Caravan Guard HQ she was put through her paces by the inquisitive youngsters who were keen to find out more about her special racing chair, her training regime and how fast she could go after letting them hold her collection of Olympic and World Champion gold medals and signing autograph books.
Hannah recently took part in the celebrity Stand Up To Cancer Great British Bake Off show and shared her experiences as well as how she is planning to tackle her training for next year’s Paralympic Games in Tokyo.
Over the past decade Caravan Guard’s charitable donations have gone toward helping Hannah pay for specialised racing wheelchair, replacement wheels, gloves, speedometers, physio and travel expenses to and from competitions around the globe.
“I’m so lucky to have had Caravan Guard’s support for the last 11 years,” said Hannah. “They’ve been with me since day one, when we were fundraising for my first racing chair, and they’ve been over every bump with me since.
“I can’t do what I do without my amazing sponsors, and after losing four in the past year, it means more than ever to me that Caravan Guard have come with me this far.”
Associate Director of Caravan Guard, Laura Wilby, said it was fantastic that Hannah could always find time to visit their offices and speak to staff – as well as their children.
“She’s such an inspiration for so many young people for achieving her dreams and the children were so excited to meet her and actually hold three Paralympic gold medals,” she said. “We’re so proud to have sponsored her from the very start of her golden and record breaking journey and hope her search for more financial support is as successful as her racing career.”
During her time as a professional athlete Hannah has won 20 gold medals and 4 silver across 4 competitions. I once won gold in 100 meter race in school when I was 15, not quite the Olympian level Hannah has reached. A massive well done to Caravan Guard for supporting one of our very best athletes.
