Breakout for Ben

Earlier this month, team members from across our business braved the winter elements to help raise much needed funds for our charity partner Ben. Working together in teams of up to ten, they each tackled 1,722 miles of walking, running, cycling or exercising in just ten days.

The Breakout for Ben – road to £1 million challenge is part of Ben’s commitment to making sure no one in the automotive industry has to face life’s toughest challenges alone. With twice as many people turning to Ben for mental health support compared to this time last year, the funds raised will go towards helping people in our industry with free and confidential support services.

The event ran from 5th – 14th February 2021 and saw teams embark on a virtual journey visiting motor circuits across the UK, starting at Pembrey Circuit in north Wales and taking in all four home nations, before ending at Silverstone.

Congratulations to our teams

More than a hundred of our colleagues took part in the Breakout for Ben challenge, completing an incredible 15,000 miles and raising more than £30,000 between them across the ten days.

There were some very exciting inter-company rivalries, but all eyes were on one particular battle between our CEO Andy Hamilton and Trading Director Anthony McAteer, whose teams competed against each other to cross the finish line first.

Just six days into the challenge, Andy’s team finished their mission and secured second place overall, with Anthony and his team not far behind, finishing sixth out of the 136 teams who entered across the country.

At the end of the ten days, 13 LKQ Euro Car Parts teams had put in their all, completing some incredible distances, in some really creative ways. Not only that - the challenge also gave our team members the opportunity to start the year with an emphasis on their own fitness, encouraging them to build time into their working day to focus on health and wellbeing – something we continue to encourage as part of our colleague wellbeing programme.

Despite the endless exercise, team rivalries and extremely challenging weather conditions (plus a few flat tyres along the way), the challenge gave our team members a really positive focus even in the face of the current situation, coming together remotely to raise much needed funds for the incredible Ben cause.