Please note that donations to this page will go to Colchester Hospital Neonatal Unit which is only 1 of the 3 chosen charities as donations cannot be split between charities.

The Flo Riders Charity Cycle first took place on 13th October
2018 in support of World Squash Day. 20 riders set out and, in spite of a late time of year and some adverse weather conditions, all 20 riders finished. With massive support from the clubs involved, in total £5165 was raised.

This year we are going to start a little earlier in the year and
reverse the route so we do the hardest leg early. Let's go!

The Flo Riders Charity Cycle is in aid of Florence's Heroes, a charitable fund set up by Chris and Sarah Wheat. Their story is below:

Florence was born just over 6 weeks early in 2015, weighing in at a little over 3 lbs. She was immediately admitted to the Neonatal Unit at Colchester General Hospital. At only a few days she was diagnosed with Hydrocephalus (a build up of fluid on the brain) and then not long after that her Congenital Heart Defects. In total she spent the first 104 days of her life in 3 different hospitals.

There are 3 services in her journey so far that we are so indebted to and thus “Florence’s Heroes Fund” was born. It is our pledge as a family to fundraise in various ways, not for Florence herself but for these services to enable them to go on helping other children.

1. Neonatal Unit at Colchester General Hospital – the care Florence received during her long stay on this unit was exceptional. As a family we remain thankful to this team every day for everything they did for Florence.

2.  Acute Neonatal Transfer Service (ANTS) – this is a regional service (based at Addenbrooke's Hospital) that specialises in the transportation of sick babies. They have 2 ambulances for the whole of East Anglia. Every shift each ambulance is manned by a driver, specialist neonatal nurse and doctor. They are equipped with a transportable incubator and with every possible piece of equipment that a sick baby may need. This is a 24 hour, 7 day a week service. In total Florence travelled with them 6 times in 3 months.

3. Royal Brompton Hospital – there are few hospitals in the world that have the skills and expertise to perform open heart surgery to repair defects on a tiny 2month old baby weighing only 5lbs. This hospital is world class and without whom Florence would not be with us today.

Thank you for your donation. Your support really means a lot to the team.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Remember: Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never share them with anyone or send you unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. They'll make sure Gift Aid (an additional 25%) is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer, too. That means more money goes to the charity, faster, with
JustGiving.

The Colchester and Ipswich Hospitals Charity raises money to improve facilities, fund new equipment, provide additional services, support staff development and initiate local medical research and innovative projects at The East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust.We always ensure that your kind gifts and donations benefit the area of the hospital or community service that you choose. Every donation is greatly appreciated and makes a real and positive difference to the experience of being in hospital.