Press Releases

Ref. : MarathonMan(PR1)
Date : 4th May 2010

IOA Group get Help for Heroes fundraising off to a flyer

Andrew Powell has quite literally put in a marathon effort to help raise funds for the IOA Group’s chosen charity, Help for Heroes. Andrew, who is Operations Director at IOA member company SE Leisure, completed his first marathon/ultra, raising a lung-bursting £1,218.21 for the charity which provides practical and direct support to servicemen and women wounded in the service of the country.

Andrew explained: "Leading up to the event it soon became apparent that it was not your average marathon. The course featured 3,000ft worth of hills spread over 26.3 miles and a field comprising some very serious and seasoned marathon/ultra runners! On the day a few of the hills were a bit daunting but I found the real problem was the distance and at 21 miles I was feeling it. I took it easy for around half a mile and ran the remaining distance with a 200m sprint finish in an official time of 4h 47m 56s. I finished 59th out of a 200-strong starting line-up, which I was delighted with, especially as only 90 lasted the full course.”

He added: “I’ve had fantastic support from friends, colleagues and customers who I would like to thank for helping raise such a great sum for a magnificent charity that has generated more than £24m to help fund major projects including a rehabilitation complex at Headly Court, a post-traumatic stress treatment centre at Leatherhead and a relatives house at Selly Oak."

John Nolan, Vice-Chairman of the IOA Group, said: “We have a link with Help for Heroes in our National Account Manager Jane Kendall who has been directly involved with the charity as a county volunteer in Suffolk. Our goal is to harness the support of the gaming, amusements and pub sectors to help with our fundraising and in so doing demonstrate the tremendous level of compassion that underpins the IOA and the business as a whole. Andrew Powell's fantastic contribution has raised the amount generated by the IOA for Help for Heroes since the beginning of the year to close to £2,500."

IOA contact: Ken Mullarkey (Sales Executive)

Tel: 01622 719163
Mob: 07768 537101
Email: ken.mullarkey@i-o-a.com

Media enquiries to Chris Jones or Alex Fierek at Scott & Jones Communications
Tel: 01273 699900
Email: info@sjc.co.uk