ABP MAKES £125,000 DONATION TO SHEFFIELD MOTOR NEURONE DISEASE FOUNDATION

The UK’s largest ports group has donated £125,000 to the Sheffield Institute Foundation for Motor Neurone Disease (MND), based at the University of Sheffield.

Associated British Ports (ABP) raised the cash through its Pedal the Ports fundraiser. The event saw ABP employees circumnavigate Britain on tandem bicycles, calling at all 21 ports owned and operated by the company, starting and finishing in the Port of Grimsby.

The relay was inspired by Nick Palmer, former Port Director of Grimsby & Immingham, who is suffering from MND.

The money raised was handed over at a presentation at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield and will help fund the proposed Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN) where leading scientists will come together in a state-of-the-art building to work on finding the causes of and a cure for MND.

John Fitzgerald, ABP Port Director, Grimsby & Immingham, organised the event. He said:

“When we started planning Pedal the Ports, we wanted to bring employees together from all our ports, whilst raising money for MND charities and paying tribute to Nick Palmer. I’m delighted to say that what we achieved far outstripped all our expectations.”

Professor Pamela Shaw, Head of Neurology at the University of Sheffield and an international expert in MND, will lead the team of researchers at the new research institute. She said:

“I am honoured and delighted to accept this wonderful donation on behalf of the University of Sheffield. It reflects the enthusiasm and generosity of the many people around the country who contributed to Pedal the Ports and who hold Nick Palmer in high regard. I believe that the creation of SITraN will allow us to understand better the causes of MND and devise new ways to protect motor neurones from injury. This major contribution from ABP’s Pedal the Ports fundraiser will be used to help create of one of the new research laboratories within the Institute.”

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