Rachael Burford, professional England rugby player, visited Manheim’s Bruntingthorpe auction centre to meet the all-female team that climbed Mount Kilimanjaro earlier this year to raise more than £23,000 for Wooden Spoon, the children’s charity of rugby. The women, who all work for Cox Automotive, presented a cheque for £23,760 to Sarah Webb, Chief Executive Officer of Wooden Spoon at a Women With Drive event on International Women’s Day in March.
Rachael, an active ambassador for Wooden Spoon, met the team to find out more about their adventure: “I’m really pleased to have met everyone today. Hearing the team talk about the challenges they faced on the climb, and their inspirational sense of achievement, has been incredible. The Wooden Spoon charity continues to support disadvantaged children across the UK and we are all enormously grateful to the Cox Automotive team and to everyone who donated towards the climb.”
The team of ten women climbed Africa’s highest mountain in February as part of the group’s Women with Drive initiative which champions equality in the automotive industry. The inspirational six-day trek took them over moorland, across rocky ridges, and through some of the worst weather conditions seen on the mountain in recent years.
“We set up the Kilimanjaro challenge as part of Women With Drive’s ambition to showcase female achievements and inspire women across the business. The team set out to climb the mountain as a celebration of what women can do if they reach for their goals, and they have definitely achieved that,” said Alison Fisher, HR Director for Cox Automotive. “Women With Drive goes from strength to strength and we are passionate about ensuring that there is equality in our industry.”
In the UK, Cox Automotive provides inventory, financial, media and retail solutions to clients including franchised and independent dealers, car supermarkets, vehicle manufacturers and fleet and leasing companies. Cox Automotive brands in the UK include Manheim, Dealer Auction, Movex, RMS, NextGear Capital, Motors.co.uk, Modix, incadea, wewantanycar.com and money4yourmotors.com.
