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Regional press director completes South African cycle ride

A director at a regional publisher has been thanked by former South African rugby captain Francois Pienaar after raising funds for charity with a 110km cycle ride.

Mike Walsh, who sits on the Archant board of directors, raised £3,285 for the Make a Difference Foundation, which helps disadvantaged children reach their full potential, by completing the Cape Argus Cycle Ride in South Africa.

Archant has added a further £3,000 to this under its Archant Gold matched funding scheme, so the total donated to the foundation was £6,285.

Mike, pictured below, completed the ride in just over four hours as the temperatures reached 40 degrees.

He and Archant have been thanked by Francois, the founding chairman of the foundation, who captained the winning rugby team in 1995 and received the World Cup from former president Nelson Mandela.

He said: “The funds from Mike and Archant will to a long way to assisting bright, dedicated and talented youngsters.

“MAD provides exceptional educational and related opportunities to academically talented youngsters from less fortunate circumstances to help them reach their full potential as future leaders and role models in South Africa.
 
“This journey will see them through their secondary and tertiary education years not only with financial assistance but mentorship, emotional support and life skills training. I want to thank you for making this journey possible.”

Archant staff across the country raised £14,551 for good causes in the last six months with a range of charity events, with the funds being doubled under the Archant Gold scheme.