Going the extra mile and raising £22,000 for charity

28/09/2026

After years of walking, climbing and paddling for charity, 2026 brought two new fundraising challenges. From a 20km walk across every Poplar HARCA estate to our first-ever Soap Box Derby, colleagues, partners, friends and family came together to raise over £22,000 for two causes.

Walking every HARCA estate for Cancer Research UK

Thanks to the generosity of staff, partners and supporters, the challenge raised just over £2000 for Cancer Research UK.

On 18 September, our Chair, Jon Lord, and his wife Carol took on a challenge, walking 20km through every Poplar HARCA estate to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

The challenge was inspired by the powerful truth that cancer affects all of us in some way.

Along the route, colleagues cheered Jon and Carol on, with our community centres providing welcome rest stops, refreshments and encouragement. Every kilometre covered helped raise money for pioneering cancer research, supporting work to prevent, detect and treat more than 200 types of cancer.

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Racing in memory of Harry Lock

The following day, on Saturday 19 September, staff swapped walking boots for wheels as they gathered at Langdon Park School for the first-ever Poplar HARCA Soap Box Derby organised by Barry Waller, our Director of assets.

Held in memory of Harry Lock, who was part of our Housing team, the Soap Box Derby raised just over £20,000 for Haematology Cancer Care UCLH to support patients and families affected by blood cancers.

Teams competed in a series of challenges before racing their decorated soapbox carts around the course in front of cheering supporters.

From fancy dress costumes to fierce competition on the track, the event was packed with laughter, teamwork and community spirit.

The event would not have been possible without the generous support of all our sponsors: Niblock, TCL Group, Lightside, FFT, Dunhams, TMN, Orion, TT Surveyors, Coldrum, Lift Technical Services, Langley, Nevets, Olli Construction, Heartfelt R & C, JLC Drainage, Social Telecoms, Shellen, Sureserve and Oyster Partnership. A big thank you to our main sponsor for the event AICO and for Lightside, for sponsoring the lunch.

The winners of the event and the Kevin Wright trophy were Lightside!

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Thank you

Reflecting on the events, Steve Stride, our Chief Executive Officer, said:

“A huge thank you to everyone who took part, donated, volunteered or supported our fundraising challenges this year. It’s been fantastic to see people come together for such important causes, and we’re incredibly grateful for the generosity, enthusiasm and community spirit shown by everyone involved.”

A huge well done to everyone who walked, raced, donated, volunteered and cheered from the sidelines.