Fast and furious fundraising from Kettering firm's karting team

A team of financial experts have proved they are fast and furious when it comes to raising money for charity.

The team from Telford Mann Pensions & Investments, based in Ironstone Place, Kettering, smashed records on the karting track during an endurance challenge to raise funds for the South Northants Community Responders and the Alzheimer’s Society earlier this month.

The team were taking part in ROkart, a fundraising event organised by the Rotary Club of Nene Valley, which is now in its fifth year.

Paul Dawes, senior chartered financial planner at Telford Mann, led the team to a podium finish after they completed a personal best of 274 laps and recorded their fastest ever lap time of 24.4 seconds.

He said: “I look forward to leading the challenge each year and every year it becomes more competitive with more teams taking it seriously.

“The event raises much-needed money for some fantastic causes and is a great way of involving the whole group from Telford Mann within the community that we work in.

“It is brilliant that I always have plenty of volunteers willing to give up their own time to take part in this event.”

Held at Teamworks Karting in Northampton, ROkart has so far raised £40,000 for good causes with the total from last week’s event still to be tallied up.

The South Northants Community Responders, based in South Northamptonshire, are a small team of highly trained volunteers who provide immediate support to people who suffer cardiac arrest, stroke or are involved in an accident.

In 2018 they responded to more than 1,900 incidents.

According to the charity, more than 600 people die each year unnecessarily of cardiac arrest, with people living in rural areas more at risk because of slower response times from the traditional emergency services.

The Alzheimer's Society raises funds for research into finding a cure for dementia and supports people living with the disease across the UK.