Eighteen employees at Mondelēz International have completed an extensive bike ride to raise funds for local homelessness charity, St Basil’s.

Eighteen employees from the global snack provider hit the road to take on the challenge of cycling either a 100km or 50km distance, with both routes starting and finishing in Bournville – the home of Cadbury.

Padraig Costello was one of four employees that completed the 50km route, with the team finishing the challenge in just over four hours. The other fourteen colleagues courageously took on the demanding 100km route and returned back to Bournville within six hours.

Each year, Mondelēz International employees embark on an annual charity cycle ride and since 2015, have raised over £44,000 for a wide-range of local and national charities, every year raising money and awareness for a different cause close to their hearts. Their fundraising efforts will also be matched by The Cadbury Foundation ‘cashmatch’ scheme.

This year, the team of eighteen have raised over £1,400 so far on JustGiving for local homelessness charity, St Basil’s – a charity that supports young people in Birmingham aged 16-25 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. St Basil’s helps over 4,000 young people each year within the West Midlands region with specific services available in Birmingham, Coventry, Sandwell, Solihull, Warwickshire and Worcestershire.

The substantial figure raised by Mondelēz International employees will allow the charity to continue providing its wide-range of services to those in need across the region.

Steven Say, Product Change Manager at the Bournville site has been working for the company for nine years and has completed six bike ride challenges in aid of different charities over the years.

Steven commented: “This year’s cycling challenge has been a tough but wonderful experience and we’re delighted to have raised a brilliant sum for an incredible charity. We really hope that the money generated will make a real difference to St Basil’s and the young people it supports across the West Midlands.”

Pauline Clarke, senior business and communities fundraiser at St Basil’s, added: “We are extremely grateful to the Mondelēz International employees who have completed this challenge to raise money for our charity.

“We are committed to ensuring that young people do not experience homelessness as part of growing up. We want young people to feel cared about, to have trusted support, and somewhere safe, suitable, and affordable to live that enables them to learn and work. The current cost-of-living crisis is creating significant additional challenges for many, so the support from the colleagues at Mondelēz International is hugely appreciated and will make a great difference to many young people in the local area.”

Kelly Farrell, community affairs manager at Mondelēz International, said: “We are so proud of our employees for their fundraising efforts and completing this challenge. Our passionate colleagues are instrumental to many of the programmes we invest in and we encourage them to volunteer their skills and manpower within our local communities during their working day.”

To sponsor to the Mondelēz International team’s cycling challenge and donate to St Basil’s, please visit www.justgiving.com/team/mondelez-charity-rides-2023.

For more information on Mondelēz International, visit www.mondelezinternational.com, and for further details on St Basil’s, head to https://stbasils.org.uk/.