GT ‘100 Years of Adventure’ campaign raises £10k for children’s charity

L-R Amelia Jordan, Micheldever’s 4x4 and General Tire brand marketing manager; Children’s Air Ambulance pilots, Merrick Forsyth and Gavin Alexandra; Tracy Grunwell, national partnership manager for the Children’s Air Ambulance

Campaign raises £10k for children’s charity

The national campaign to celebrate General Tire’s centenary, supported by Micheldever Tyre Services, has raised £10,000 for the Children’s Air Ambulance.

Just over £5,000 was raised during the General Tire ‘100 Years of Adventure’roadshow,which ran from July to September. The remainder came from an auction held during the ‘100 Year Anniversary’ event at the Heritage Motor Centre in Gaydon, Warwickshire, attended by more than 55 of Micheldever’s independent dealer customers.

The success of the partnership has led to General Tire and Micheldever announcing that they will continue to support the Children’s Air Ambulance throughout 2016.

Alan Baldwin, Micheldever’s sales director, said: “Micheldever’s priority is to support our customers and the ‘100 Years of Adventure’ campaign proved to be a great way of engaging with them, providing them with much needed press coverage, as well as promoting the General Tire brand. But what really made this excellent campaign standout was the fundraising for the Children’s Air Ambulance. I cannot thank the dealers enough for their efforts to raise so much money.”

The ‘100 Years of Adventure’roadshow involved one of two General Tire branded vehicles, a Range Rover Sport and a Land Rover Discovery, along with a five-metre long inflatable Children’s Air Ambulance helicopter, visiting over 70 independent customers in England Wales and Scotland, from St Austell in the south to Dundee in the north. The dealers are all customers of Micheldever, General Tire’s official UK distribution partner for its range of 4x4, car and van tyres. During each visit, money was raised through the sale of raffle tickets and donations.

Meanwhile, as part of the ‘100 Year Anniversary’ event, dealers had the exclusive opportunity to experience the performance of General Tire tyres during a number of driving activities  staged at the Jaguar Land Rover testing facility. These included navigating various obstacles on a Land Rover Dynamic Display course in a Range Rover Sport, an off-road experience in a Land Rover Discovery Sport, as well as a driving lesson in a Jaguar XE that simulated what it’s like to handle a vehicle on ice. The dealers also got to experience the exhilaration of being a passenger in a Jaguar F-Type S convertible during fast laps around the test track.

David Smith, managing director at Continental Tyre Group Ltd, which owns General Tire, said: “The UK is General Tire’s largest European market so I’m delighted that the ‘100 Years of Adventure’ campaign, which was part of a wider international campaign, has been such a fantastic success. It really delivered the “Anywhere is Possible” message to dealers throughout the country. I’m also very proud of how much money has been raised for the Children’s Air Ambulance and we look forward to supporting the charity next year.”

Tracy Grunwell is the national partnership manager for the Children’s Air Ambulance, which is the UK’s only dedicated helicopter service that transports critically ill children around the country. She said: “On behalf of everyone at the Children’s Air Ambulance, I am deeply grateful to General Tire, Micheldever and the dealers for their backing. The money raised will allow us to continue to provide life-saving support to hundreds of critically ill children. We’re also really excited about our continued partnership in 2016.”

2015 General Tire Road Show Raffle Winners:

1^st Prize, Apple Watch – Rose Jackson – Lutterworth

2^nd Prize, Land Rover Driving Experience – Avril Hoskins – Alcester

3^rd Prize, Family Day Out – Derek Wright – Nottingham