Autoglass^®, alongside sister companies from around the world, has raised over €1.7 million for global charity partner Afrika Tikkun at the 2020 Spirit of Belron challenge.   

Taking place virtually for the first time, the annual challenge was completed by over 7,000 employees and their families from Autoglass^® and parent company Belron^® between the 23^rd and 27^th of September. The event saw employees from over 30 countries running, swimming, cycling and rowing to raise vital funds for Afrika Tikkun.  

With the usual format of the event, which is now in its 26th year, falling victim to the pandemic, the virtual 5-day challenge saw employees come together as a global community to continue supporting Afrika Tikkun. The challenge was to see how many times Autoglass^® could ‘travel’ around the world (40,075km). With the support of family and friends, nearly 500 employees in the UK were able to raise a whopping €65,000 over the 5 days. A team from the charity also joined in with the event this year.   

Afrika Tikkun was founded in 1994 with the goal of developing and uplifting young people in under-privileged communities in South Africa. Belron^® has partnered with the charity since its inception and in that time has helped to raise over €11.4 million to support their great work. The annual Spirit of Belron event is just one way that the company is proud to support such a deserving cause.  

Taxiarchis Konstantopoulos, Managing Director, Autoglass^® said:  

“Helping our local charities in the UK as they navigate through the challenging situation that the pandemic has presented has been incredibly important to us all at Autoglass^® this year. On top of this, we are proud to continue our ongoing support of Afrika Tikkun’s fantastic work, changing the lives of young people in South Africa. Our support was needed more than ever this year  which inspired us to change our event format and come together as a collective global community, along with our family and friends, to push ourselves and see how much we could fundraise in a virtual ‘round the world’ challenge.  

“I want to thank everyone in the global Belron^® community who worked hard to ensure that the event could still go ahead, and I am so proud of the amount we were able to raise together. The money raised will go towards supporting disadvantaged communities in South Africa and I look forward to continuing to support the great work of Afrika Tikkun in years to come”.  

Jo Fryer, People Director, Autoglass^® adds:  

“Once it became clear that the event would not be able to run as in previous years, our country ambassadors came together as a virtual team to discuss alternative ideas. There was a huge appetite to do something, so it was a natural progression to make the event virtual.  

“Our goal was to make the event as inclusive and enjoyable as possible whilst adhering to local Covid-19 restrictions. We extended the event over a longer period and opened up the challenge to a range of different activities events. In comparison to previous years where our colleagues have asked for sponsorship for taking part in the competition, entry this year required a donation to the charity. Getting our friends and families involved created a real sense of community spirit and crucially allowed us to raise an incredible amount of money for Afrika Tikkun”.