I feel very privileged to work with a couple of charities that make the world a better place in the face of adversity.
I recently whizzed down the A2 into Kent to support Back on Track – one of these charities – at their annual karting day.
Karting is huge fun – for those that are somewhat braver than me – but the reason it’s this charity’s choice of activity is not simply down to its name. It’s about getting a specific group of people back on track with their lives.
Mark Allen is an ex-soldier who suffered horrific injuries in Afghanistan, including facial burns and disfigurement and the loss of both legs. To boost his confidence, his girlfriend contacted my client the Harley Street Skin Clinic, a world-leader in skin care, to see how they could improve Mark’s scarring.
The team at Harley Street Skin are awesome! Dr Aamer Khan and his wife Lesley Reynolds run the show and they refused to take any payment from Mark for their work. Dr Khan painstakingly returned Mark to the handsomeness he’d enjoyed before his injury.
Then, as if that’s not wonderful enough, Dr Khan and Lesley realised from chatting with Mark that military veterans suffer PTSD, partly as a result of them not being able to continue with the action man type activities they’d loved. So they created the Back on Track charity to give everyone a fantastic day at the racetrack while also raising funds to get these guys and gals back on track with their lives. Their support goes even further than healing the physical scarring – a team of counsellors and buddies support those with psychological needs – so Lesley and Dr Khan literally help to mend people inside and out, as well as providing this fun-filled day at the karting.
It was sunny but windy when I arrived at the Buckmore Park track, with teams zooming around at breakneck speeds in a race that looked exciting and a weeny bit scary! Celebrities raced against professional drivers – including Top Gear’s The Stig – to beat army veterans to the shining trophy!
I’ll never be able to kart, but I’d love to watch teams of my friends and colleagues competing in Back on Track’s 2020 event! Do let me know if you’d be interested in entering your business and I’ll arrange for you to be added to the mailing list for future events. You too can race against celebs and war heroes – or you can join me on the terrace with a glass of wine and a delicious lunch instead.
There are plenty of pics on Instagram – if you’re not on it and you’d like to be, I’ll be happy to help.
My next Essex-based social media marketing workshop will be on Halloween – a busy day in the UK for various reasons – more info coming soon!
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