Around US$70,000 has been pledged to the Red Cross Caribbean Hurricane Appeal thanks to the efforts of Cable & Wireless director Graham Howe.
Graham, together with his wife Jane, completed last Sunday’s New York Marathon – and has pledged to donate all sponsorship money to recovery work in the Caribbean undertaken by the Red Cross.
The couple, who are well known for their charitable endeavours, decided to support the appeal after hearing about the extent of the devastation caused by Hurricane Ivan. Their fundraising efforts, which include 60 online donations, have been supported by Cable &Wireless.
Graham, the senior independent director on the board of Cable & Wireless, said: “Hurricane Ivan left a trail of destruction in its wake – with many people injured or killed and many thousands left homeless. We decided to combine the personal challenge of running our first (and last!!) ever marathon with raising money for a worthwhile cause.
“Jane and I finished shortly behind the winning British lady Paula Radcliffe – her finishing time of two hours 23 minutes meant we were only about three hours behind her!”
The Red Cross has been working round the clock in many of the worst affected areas since Hurricane Ivan struck in early September. To date, about 85,000 people have received assistance through the Red Cross emergency appeal in the Cayman Islands, Grenada, Jamaica and Cuba – with many receiving water, food, plastic sheeting and temporary shelter.
With the distribution phase of the relief operation now complete, work is now beginning to focus on rehabilitation and reconstruction, with a particular emphasis on the provision of roofing materials and water and sanitation awareness work.
For more information (including pictures taken during the event ), or to make a donation see www.grahamhowe.com
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Background
Graham Howe is the co-founding director of Orange, having joined with Hans Snook in 1992 to plan the strategy that led to the launch of Orange in April 1994.
Initially as Chief Financial Officer, Graham led Orange's debut flotation in March 1996 and Orange became the youngest company ever to enter the FTSE 100, with Graham as the youngest ever FTSE 100 Finance Director.
As Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer, Graham saw Orange become Europe's second largest operator as well as overtaking Vodafone as the UK's largest mobile operator.
Graham has since joined the board of Cable & Wireless plc as senior independent director. He is 43 years old.
This is the third charity challenge that Graham has lead or organised. The first was a Coast to Coast cycle ride in 2002 which raised around £150k for the National Children's Home. Last year he teamed up with four friends in a Land's End to John O'Groats cycle ride raising £40k for the Royal National Institute for the Blind & the British Deaf Association and this year it is the New York Marathon in aid of the British Red Cross Caribbean Recovery Appeal.
