We were delighted to announce the winner of our 2022 Fundraiser of the Year award as the remarkable Simon Cooper! Simon was instrumental in nominating Lloyd’s syndicate AEGIS London as lead sponsor of Cure Parkinson’s Coast-to-Coast-to-Cure cycle challenge in 2019, and in 2022 organised a 318 mile cycle challenge with his colleagues at Castel.
This award recognises a person who has gone ‘above and beyond’ to raise funds for Parkinson’s, and over the years Simon has done just that. Simon, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2017, works within the Lloyd’s insurance market and successfully nominated Cure Parkinson’s to be one of the company’s charity partners. Since then Simon has been instrumental in gaining support for the charity, including getting AEGIS London to support the charity’s trans-Pyrenean cycle challenge in 2019 which helped raise an impressive £70,000 for our research.
In 2022, Simon took on a new challenge: to galvanise and take part in an epic 318 mile cycle challenge tackling 2,588m of ascent and travelling through four countries in three days. Led by Castel underwriters and joined by many supporters in the Lloyd’s community, the ride started at the Castel offices in London and ended at the Castel offices in Amsterdam. Everyone involved was determined to raise as much money as possible for our Parkinson’s research. The team even designed their own cycling jersey for the challenge, featuring the logos of all the sponsors they managed to secure. With such strong connections in the insurance sector, they secured sponsorship from an impressive 77 companies.
The ride was a success on many levels, as we got 40 people together who didn’t know each other beforehand and formed great friendships. We raised a lot of money and I became as fit as I had been for five years – which could only be good for my Parkinson’s. One of my unexpected benefits was being sponsored by old school friends that I hadn’t spoken to in 40 years, and we have now rekindled those friendships.”
Simon Cooper, Head of Underwriting Insight, AEGIS London
The team managed to raise a staggering £340,000 in total for Cure Parkinson’s from sponsorships and individual fundraising, with most of the riders raising over £3,000 each on average.
We are extremely grateful to Simon for his ongoing support of Cure Parkinson’s. His determination and dedication to raise funds and awareness for the charity is remarkable.”
Will Cook, CEO Cure Parkinson’s
Our fantastic runners up!
We would also like to thank our runners up who have raised vital funds and awareness for the charity through their own incredible challenges.
