Eco-Readymix raises £10,000 for Children’s Hospital

Eco-Readymix Director Gary Billington has raised a whopping £10,000 for Ronald McDonald House in Liverpool’s Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, by cycling 1000 miles from North Wales to Italy.

Ronald McDonald House is run by an independent registered charity, The Alder Hey Family Trust, and is the largest Ronald McDonald House in Europe, capable to accommodate 84 families a night.

In 2017 alone, the house helped 1,919 families stay close to their children in hospital.

The monster ride, from Wrexham to Modena, took Gary 10 days to complete; along with his support team, comprising of wife Paula, Peter from Eco-Readymix and close friends Paul and Barbra.

They all drove the 1000 miles and organised meals, accommodation and those vital bike repairs along the route.

Familiar with feats of endurance, Gary has completed over 20 marathons, including London, Boston and New York; he even tackled an Iron Man in France a few years back.

However, he lost part of his foot in an accident, which mad running difficult and therefore decided to take up cycling.

And if those Welsh hills were not challenging enough, he wanted tackle something different to increase the fundraising – so he set his sights on the Alps.

Over a year of training went into the build-up for the Italian trip and, due to his foot issue, there were occasions when the bike ride looked like it would have to come to an end.

But Gary was adamant he would not be beaten – and he certainly reaped the benefits in the end.

Gary Billington commented: “The cycle ride was extremely tough, but it was all worth it in the end when the final figure came through.

“Ronald Macdonald House has always been close to my heart. My niece is currently there, and it has become somewhere as a family we have visited many times, so it is always special to be able to support the fantastic job they do.

“The organisation costs 600k a year just to stand still and it is 100% reliant on fundraising to do so, so it really is a worthy cause for the £10,000.

“I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who sponsored the ride and also to my support team who were brilliant.”

Gary has over 30 years of experience in the mortar business; he founded Eco-Readymix in 2008, with the family run Wrexham-based business currently having three plants and 36 staff.

It provides the highest quality products to the UK’s leading housing developers, civil engineers and construction companies, pushing the boundaries of environmentally friendly produced products in a way never seen before.

Eco-Readymix’s wider product range now features concrete pump hire, flowing screeds, decorative concrete blocks and gravel and coloured mortars.