Kwik Fit, the UK’s largest automotive servicing and repair company, today announces that it has raised £1million for its first selected charity of the year, Children with Cancer UK. The UK’s leading charity dedicated to the fight against cancer in children and young people was chosen following a vote open to more than 5,000 Kwik Fit employees across the UK last year.

During the year-long partnership, Kwik Fit staff participated in events such as the Virgin Money London Marathon and the Simplyhealth Great North Run, as well as organising various fundraising activities including bake sales, static bike challenges, car washes, sponsored walks and the company’s first ever Tour De Branch – a bike ride covering 2,500 miles and connecting 120 Kwik Fit centres.

Mark Slade, managing director of Kwik Fit, said: “We are delighted to have hit our fundraising target of £1million for such a worthy cause. I would like to congratulate and thank all of the Kwik Fit staff for their tremendous effort and dedication for the past year and all our customers and partners who have supported us. Achieving this target would not have been possible without them. Children with Cancer UK does tremendous work for children and their families across the country and it has been inspiring to work with their team to raise these vital funds.”

Mark Brider, Children with Cancer CEO, said: “We are hugely grateful to Kwik Fit for their incredible fundraising efforts over the past year. After choosing Children with Cancer UK as their Charity of the Year in 2019, Kwik Fit pledged to raise £1 million for our charity. Through a range of staff-led fundraising activities, we are delighted to announce that they have now reached this incredible target. The commitment and passion displayed by the team throughout their fundraising has been fantastic to witness and this is such an amazing total to reach.

“Every day in the UK, 12 children and young people are diagnosed with cancer, sadly, of those 12, two will not survive the disease. We exist to make a change to that, and it is thanks to our generous supporters, such as Kwik Fit, that we are able to keep investing in vital, lifesaving research to find cures and kinder, safer treatments for childhood cancer.”

Children with Cancer UK’s mission is to improve survival rates and the quality of survival in young cancer patients and to find ways to prevent cancer in the future. It funds research, works to raise awareness and also provides practical support for young cancer patients and their families.