Welcome to the Twin Towns Challenge website!
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So what is the Twin Towns Challenge all about...
When former England and Northampton Saints winger Jon Sleightholme discovered that a decrease in donations and grants was threatening the future of the charity of which he is President, Northampton based Autism Concern, he knew there was only one thing for it ... to hatch a major fundraising plan.
And late last year, an idea involving several colleagues, several bikes and several hundred miles soon evolved to become the Twin Towns Challenge, a major charity bike ride to Northampton's twin towns, Poitiers in France, and Marburg in Germany, in 8 days.
The TTC takes place between the 25th July - 1st August 2009 and will see a dozen cyclists pedal from Northampton to Poitiers in France followed by Marburg in Germany.
Totting up just short of one thousand miles (the actual route is roughly 890 miles), the TTC team is hoping to raise in excess of £50,000 for the struggling Northampton charity which this year needs to raise over £150,000 to help improve services in the county for young people with autism.
When Autism Concern, formerly known as Northamptonshire Society for Autism, revealed last year that it was facing closure and would have to cut services if it did not find extra funding, the news not only caused uproar locally but attracted national media coverage too.
As President of Autism Concern, Jon felt that he could not sit back and let the 17 year old charity and its 150 plus users suffer: he knew that he would have to lead by example. The rest, as they say "is history" - a plan amongst a handful of friends was quickly hatched and the Twin Towns Challenge launched.
Explained Jon, "The service that Autism Concern provides in the county is absolutely fantastic, and so many families depend on the range of services it provides. Doing nothing has never been an option. The challenge captured the imagination of quite a few of my colleagues who were keen to get involved in raising funds for such a worthwhile cause.
"Autism Concern needs to raise £150,000 this year to get back on its feet, and our team is totally committed to raising at least £50,000, which would make a healthy dent in the overall target.
"Obviously, if we can inspire other people to raise funds for the charity that would be amazing. We have some terrific fundraising plans in the pipeline and the next few months leading to our departure promise to be very eventful and we are dedicated to providing some sort of support to everyone who gets behind us."
Anyone wishing to get involved in sponsorship or fundraising for Autism Concern or support the Twin Towns Challenge team should contact Jon Sleightholme on 07802 800040
![[The Twin Towns Challenge Team standing in front of the Northampton sign]](resources/ttc-team1.jpg)
![[Map of the route - England, France, and Germany, with the twinned towns highlighted]](resources/map3.png)