Siemens Mobility and its partners have come together to raise tens of thousands of pounds for a local charity with its inaugural Goole Cricket Day, held on Friday 14 July.
The event at Goole Town Cricket Club featured teams from Siemens Mobility and its partners including Angel Trains, GMI Construction Group, Knorr-Bremse, Porterbrook, Wabtec and West Midlands Trains.
Each of the eight participating teams made a donation to take part, with the event raising a total of £21,000 to be shared across seven local charities; Goole and Snaith Imagination Library, Two Rivers Community Pantry, Castaway, Friends of Oakhill, The Conservation Volunteers, Goole Pride and Goole Boxing Club.
The final was contested between Porterbrook and Angel Trains with Porterbrook eventually emerging as the winner.
Siemens Mobility's Simon Rennie, Head of Digital for Rolling Stock and Customer Services UKI and co-ordinator of the charity cricket match, said: “One of the most satisfying things about developing our pioneering rail facility in Goole has been the extent to which we’ve been able to engage with, and become part of, the vibrant community here.
“The Charity Cricket Day was an opportunity to come together with our customers, partners, suppliers and their teams to have fun and raise important funds to give something back to that community. A huge thank you to Goole Cricket Club for providing a fantastic venue as well as their sporting support.
“Despite the rain, it was a brilliant day, and I think we had a few players channelling the spirit of The Ashes!”
Councillor Anne Handley, Leader of East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “It was a wonderful day and Siemens Mobility’s corporate social responsibility shines through. The fundraising will make a huge difference to the local charities. When they came to Goole they said they would get involved in the community and I can honestly say, since Siemens put their spade in the ground that’s exactly what they’ve done.
The winning team received a trophy crafted by a member of the Siemens Mobility Traction Drives Team, to showcase creative and technical skills.
Siemens Mobility has played an active role in the community since construction began at the site in Goole. This has included donating thousands of pounds worth of toys and treats for local children at Christmas time and staff volunteering their time to help underprivileged children and their families at a social supermarket and food bank. The company has also supported 13 local schools through the Primary Engineer programme, which is designed to ignite interest and curiosity in exciting careers in engineering among local children from a young age.
Siemens Mobility is investing up to £200m in developing a train manufacturing plant in Goole, which will create up to 700 skilled jobs, as well as up to 1,700 in the supply chain and 250 during construction. Trains for the UK market will be built at the new factory, starting with new Piccadilly line Tube trains for Transport for London, with manufacturing due to begin next year.
The factory will be complemented by a neighbouring research, development and innovation cluster and co-located supplier facilities, establishing Goole as a centre of excellence for rail technology in the UK.
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