Three men in a minibus drive for charity

THREE friends are bundling themselves into a 13-year-old minibus, nicknamed Marvin, and driving across nine countries to do their bit for charity.
Matthew Edwards from Warrington, Alex Allen from Timperley and Ivan Rogan from Congleton will set off on April 11 and spend nine days driving to Tirana, Albania’s capital city.
Once they arrive at their destination in one piece, the minibus will be donated to a local, not-for-profit climbing gym, to enable the leaders to take their climbers, mainly under privileged children, on outdoor excursions in the Albanian Mountains.
All money raised by their adventure will then be donated to the British Red Cross with the cost of the trip itself funded entirely by the three friends.
Matthew said “The route will take us through France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro and we hope to undertake the journey in nine days.
“We are also taking donations of nappies, used baby clothes and toys which we are then going to donate to an abandoned baby unit and Downs Syndrome centre in Albania. The sponsorship we raise from family, friends and colleagues is being given directly to the British Red Cross to support the fantastic work they do, and we’ve already raised £670!”
Clare McManmon, senior community fundraiser with the British Red Cross said: “This challenge is a really fantastic start to Red Cross Week which takes place in May, and we are so grateful for the wonderful support of Matthew, Alex and Ivan. Their trip will be a real test and the money raised will go to vital Red Cross Services, both locally and abroad. Good luck guys!”
To find out more about the trip, or to sponsor “Marvin’s” trek across Europe, go to www.marvinsalbanianodyssey.com.
Anyone who wants to do their own Red Cross Week fundraising should contact Clare McManmon at [email protected] or call 0161 888 8918 to receive a jam-packed fundraising kit.