Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I'm riding from Leeds to Wembley Stadium in August to raise funds for Rugby League Cares and would love your support! The five-day ride covers 320 miles, the majority of it offroad,  starting in Leeds and finishing by the RL Legends statues at Wembley.

Why?

The recent tragic death of Evan Hawksworth, who suffered a fatal head injury playing for Stanley Rangers, shocked us all.  Evan, who was also captain of Sandal RU under-14s, the club where my daughter Abi plays, was a young lad taken far too early, and the impact on his family and friends will be lifelong.

On the rare occasions when things go wrong on - and off - the field of play, Rugby League Cares is there to provide practical and emotional support. 

The charity, via the RFL Benevolent Fund, was also there to help the family of Danny Jones, who died playing for Keighley Cougars two years ago, and again stepped in to meet all the funeral costs following the tragic death of Huddersfield Giants teenager Ronan Costello.

RL Cares also distributed hardship grants to the Bradford Bulls players when the club folded last year, and has intervened to provide counselling and medical support to current and former players suffering serious mental health issues.

Through its groundbreaking Offload project, RL Cares is helping men learn the coping mechanisms to tackle their own poor mental health and has teamed up with Oddballs to raise awareness of testicular cancer. 

Rugby League Cares is also working with clubs to establish Memories Clubs, which are proven to help people suffering from dementia and their families.

The charity is behind the sport's first ever National RL Museum, which is scheduled to open in 2020 if it can secure Lottery funding, and does so much work to celebrate the heritage of Rugby League.

They're also my employer, and I'm really proud to have this opportunity to help them continue doing what they do on a ride which also features a number of former players, including Keith Senior, Paul Highton, Chev Walker and Wayne Godwin.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.