{"id":32094,"date":"2026-07-09T15:47:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T14:47:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/?p=32094"},"modified":"2026-07-09T15:47:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T14:47:18","slug":"peak-district-challenge-2026-honours-kent-rhodes-legacy-as-fundraising-surpasses-100000","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/peak-district-challenge-2026-honours-kent-rhodes-legacy-as-fundraising-surpasses-100000\/","title":{"rendered":"Peak District challenge 2026 honours Kent Rhodes\u2019 legacy as fundraising surpasses \u00a3100,000"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 2<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><p>The ActionCOACH community raised more than \u00a3100,000 for charity following the latest Kent Rhodes Challenge, which saw participants take on the spectacular landscapes of the Peak District over the first weekend in June.<\/p>\n<p>Held in memory of much-loved and respected ActionCOACH franchise partner Kent Rhodes, who passed away following a courageous battle with cancer in 2018, the annual event, now in its eighth year, brought together franchise partners, clients, team members, family and friends from across the UK.<\/p>\n<p>This year\u2019s challenge was organised by franchise partner Phil Chantry, and attended by close to 40 participants, including Marc Eccles, who was inspired to join ActionCOACH through Kent\u2019s coaching.<\/p>\n<p>The team completed routes of varying distances through some of the Peak District\u2019s most iconic scenery, raising money for Children with Cancer UK and the Young Entrepreneur Smart Start (YESS) Foundation.<\/p>\n<p>Denise Pitot, CEO of the YESS Foundation, also played a leading role in organising this year\u2019s event, helping coordinate the challenge and fundraising efforts to ensure Kent\u2019s legacy remains front and centre.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs tough as the challenge was, we always knew it was only for 12 hours, said Denise. \u201cMany young people don&#8217;t have that certainty when they&#8217;re facing difficulties in their lives. The money raised will help us continue giving young people the support, skills and encouragement they need.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This year\u2019s event took the overall fundraising total beyond the \u00a3100,000 mark, a remarkable achievement for an initiative inspired by one man\u2019s determination to help others.<\/p>\n<p>Kent was known through the ActionCOACH network for his abundant spirit, positivity and unwavering commitment to supporting those around him. Following his passing, the annual fundraiser was established to celebrate those qualities while supporting causes dedicated to improving the lives of children and young people.<\/p>\n<p>For Ian Christelow, co-founder of ActionCOACH UK, \u201cKent had an incredible ability to bring out the best in people. He challenged us to think bigger, do more and contribute wherever we could. To see so many people continuing to come together in his memory, whilst raising more than \u00a3100,000 for important causes, is something I know he would have been immensely proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Alongside supporting Children with Cancer UK, proceeds from this year\u2019s event will enable the YESS Foundation to expand its work providing free life and business skills education to young people aged 12 to 22.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe funds donated will help us continue delivering life-changing education and personal development opportunities for young people across the UK,\u201d added Denise. \u201cEvery programme we run is designed to build confidence, resilience and leadership skills helping young people realise what they\u2019re capable of achieving.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis year we\u2019ve raised over \u00a310,000! We\u2019re incredibly grateful to everyone who took part, donated or supported the event. Their efforts will create opportunities for young people long into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What began as a tribute to a respected colleague has evolved into a powerful annual fundraising effort, bringing people together around a shared commitment to helping others and assuring Kent\u2019s influence for years to come.<\/p>\n<p><strong>About the Kent Rhodes Challenge:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Kent Rhodes Challenge was established by the ActionCOACH community following the death of franchise partner Kent Rhodes in 2018. Since then, annual fundraising events have generated more than \u00a3100,000 for charitable causes supporting children and young people.<\/p>\n<p><strong>About YESS Foundation-UK:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>YESS Foundation-UK provides free life and business skills education for young people aged 12-22, helping them build confidence, leadership capability and a success-focused mindset through practical training and mentoring.<\/p>\n<p><strong>If you want to discover more about the ActionCOACH franchise simply click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/actioncoach\/#contactform\"><u>HERE<\/u><\/a>, or on the button below to get in touch.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The ActionCOACH community raised more than \u00a3100,000 for charity following the latest Kent Rhodes Challenge, which saw participants take on the spectacular landscapes of the Peak District over the first weekend in June. Held in memory of much-loved and respected ActionCOACH franchise partner Kent Rhodes, who passed away following a courageous battle with cancer in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":32095,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[228,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-actioncoach","category-business-franchises"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AC-PR-Image-Jul-26.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32094"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32094\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32096,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32094\/revisions\/32096"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}