Acts Trust

Driving for Acts15 October 2010

A group of four lads have driven across Europe as part of the Screwball Rally to raise money for Acts.

Liam, Richard, John and Karl drove through France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, covering a staggering 2,545 miles in just five days, and raising over £500 for Acts through sponsorship.

The Screwball Rally is an annual event where teams drive across Europe to raise money for a charity of their choice. There are only two conditions for the Rally, aside from having a valid licence, of course; firstly, your car cannot be worth more than £750, and secondly, you must raise at least £250 for a charity of your choice!

“It’s really hard to choose a highlight – it was all really good,” said Liam. “The whole thing went so fast, I can’t believe we’re back already.”

The lads spent the five days driving through all kinds of different environments, from the motorways of Germany, the winding roads of the Alps and busy city streets.

Richard can still picture exactly his favourite place to drive; “just north of Dijon. It’s just a stunning place, amazing views, the roads were clear and it was just… fantastic.”

France seems to have been the favourite for driving; “we mostly avoided the motorways and weaved along the back roads and through the countryside,” said Liam. “Driving through the Alps was amazing – but the best views were when we came through the other side of the Mont Blanc tunnel into Italy; the mountains were simply breathtaking.”

Getting into the spirit of the rally, teams choose a theme for their cars and take part in fancy dress. There are two awards given out at the end of the Rally: Best Car Theme and Spirit of the Rally. The lads dressed as ‘English Gents’, complete with full suits, bowler hats, monocles, pipes and a cup and saucer glued to the front of the bonnet! They also took a cricket set with them, but unfortunately didn’t have the chance to use it.

Sadly they didn’t win any prizes this year; “but we can’t begrudge those that did! The guys that won the Spirit Award drove the two thousand miles in a Robin Reliant, and the Best Car Theme went to four guys in an old BMW, dressed as the girls from Sheila’s Wheels! You can’t fault their dedication; I don’t think we saw them out of those pink dresses the entire trip!” 

Richard’s favourite theme “was a camper van painted like the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo! That was amazing. Someone else had turned their car into the Enterprise from Star Trek, too, which was really impressive. I was surprised that the Scooby Doo crew didn’t win the fancy dress award, but the Sheila’s Wheel’s guys went above and beyond!”

This was the first major fundraising event for any of the boys and they’ve come back with big smiles on their faces. “There’s a great community feeling at the campsites,” said Liam; “everyone was really friendly and inclusive and just chatted to each other and had a laugh.”

Richard felt the Screwball Rally was excellent for newcomers: “doing a rally can be quite confusing and daunting if you’ve not done one before, but the Screwball team were great.” 

It may seem a long way off, but the guys are already planning for the Screwball Rally in 2011; “We’re definitely doing it again!” said Richard. “I think we’re hoping to get the Dads involved; have a Father vs. Son thing going on! But there’ll definitely be more of us next time. We’ll be packing lighter, too, so we can have a bigger choice in what car we take.”

Liam agreed: “We’ll definitely do it again! I think we’ll do things a little bit differently next time, though; we’ll probably go for a car with a little bit more pantomime about it; make it a real head turner. We’re already recruiting more people to come along, to see if we can get a convoy going.”

The four boys took part in the rally in an effort to raise money for Acts, and managed to raise over £500 in total. Liam couldn’t quite believe they’d reached such a great amount: “that was totally unexpected – we aimed for £250, and somehow doubled it! People were so generous; we’ve done far better than we’d hoped.”

Richard was equally thrilled, “I’m over the moon we managed to raise £500! I thought we’d make £250, maybe just £300, but I never thought that we’d hit £500! I’m really pleased that so many people are willing to support such a great cause.”

Here at Acts we’d like to say a huge thank you to Liam, Richard, Karl and John for all their hard work, both on the road and off! They’ve done a fantastic job and we’re thrilled they’re home safe and sound. Thank you!

Have you ever thought about fundraising? Ever wanted an excuse to jump out of a plane (with a parachute, I might add!), run a marathon or do a bungee jump? Why not do it to raise money for Acts! You could do it as part of a team, a connect group, or as a whole church, and we’d love to cheer you on throughout.

For more information on the Screwball Rally, please visit http://www.screwballrally.co.uk/