North East Vertu Dealerships Back Smiles For Miles Event
Award-winning automotive retailer Vertu has shown its support for Middlesbrough-based JPC Community Hub CIC after its BMW dealerships across the North East came together to appear at the annual Smiles for Miles event at Hardwick Hall.
Vertu BMW Sunderland, Vertu BMW Teesside and Vertu BMW Durham joined forces to provide a selection of vehicles that were present at the annual event, which is organised by JPC Specialist Motorsports.
These included a BMW M2, a BMW M3 and a BMW iX3, which proved to be popular with visitors to the Vertu BMW stand over the course of the day, whilst Vertu BMW Motorrad Sunderland showcased a BMW S1000 RR and a BMW F900 RR.
Vertu Ducati Sunderland also attended the event with a Panigale V2 S model.
Founded by Paul and Julie Connaughton after their son James was born with severe disabilities, the JPC Community Hub CIC seeks to support individuals living with special and complex needs, promoting inclusivity and helping people to live their lives as independently as possible.
Having spent a large part of his career working in the automotive industry - both as a sales manager at Honda Stockton and then as regional manager in the North East for Supagard - Paul created JPC Specialist Motorsports to both raise the profile of the charity, and also to generate extra funds to support its work.
All profits generated by Smiles for Miles will go back into supporting people with a range of learning, physical and sensory disabilities.
As well as attending the Smiles for Miles event, Vertu’s BMW dealerships also provided Paul and James with tickets to attend the British Touring Car Championship event at Croft in September, giving an opportunity for the pair to cheer on Team VERTU’s Nicolas Hamilton as he continues to blaze a trail as the only disabled driver competing in the series.
Paul Connaughton, Founder of JPC Community Hub CIC and JPC Specialist Motorsports said: “Having spent more than 30 years working in the automotive industry, I’ve got to know many people working at Vertu dealerships across the North East and it was fantastic to be able to count on their support at Smiles for Miles.
“James is a huge motorsport fan and when we first decided to set up the charity, Nicolas Hamilton was one of the inspirations behind it. As someone who suffers from cerebral palsy like James, his achievement in launching his racing career has been astonishing and we’ll never forget him taking time out of his busy schedule on his first ever BTCC weekend to meet myself and James back in 2015.
“A huge thank you to the Vertu BMW team for not only supporting our event, but also for giving us the opportunity to cheer Nicolas and the team on later in the year. Hopefully he’ll be able to repeat his recent visit to the podium, which only provided more inspiration for the disabled community.”
Jeff Aynsley, Head of Business at Vertu BMW Sunderland, said: “We’re all familiar with Paul and his family from his time working in the industry, so were delighted to attend Smiles for Miles to help support his charity with their work.
“With Nicolas Hamilton being such an ambassador for the disabled community, and someone who has inspired Paul and James in the past, it was also our pleasure to be able to provide them with the opportunity to visit Croft later in the year to cheer on Nicolas and Team VERTU.”