This weekend’s national Drive-It Day is set to be the best in its 19-year history. Now all it needs is YOU
Pink Floyd rocker Nick Mason has lent his support to a race to raise more than £50,000 on Drive-It Day this Sunday (21 April).
The nationwide celebration of classics aims to support ChildLine by showing off historic vehicles at shows, meets and runs around the UK – and you can take part simply by taking your classic out and adorning it with one of the event’s official rally plaques.
The drummer and classic collector supported last year’s event and is doing so again in 2024. He said: ‘I’m incredibly excited to be involved in this year’s Drive-It Day. It’s a great event, especially for those like me who love motor sport and vintage cars. Drive-It Day always raises an amazing amount of money for charity and it is my hope that we can get even more this year.’
The Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC) launched National Drive-It Day in 2005 to celebrate the One Thousand Mile Trial of 1900, which in turn was designed to prove the viability of the automobile. Since then the event and sale of plaques has raised more than £100,000 for charity through the sale of plaques and donations from classic enthusiasts.
FBHVC secretary, Mel Holly, told CCW: ‘Sales of plaques for this year are on a par with last year so we’re hopeful that we will meet, if not beat last year’s target.
‘Last year, we raised just over £50,000 in total, which includes plate sales, sponsorship and donations from people on the day or on the Drive-It Day Website.
‘This year the money will be donated to the NSPCC’s Childline, which costs £30,000 a day to run, and we’re looking to cover two days. If we can manage to do that, it really would be excellent.’
FBHVC chairman, David Whale, added: ‘Once again, it’s absolutely fantastic to see the tremendous support of the entire classic movement behind Drive-It Day. It also shows the wider public that our vehicles and their use are creating good for the wider community through our support of NSPCC’s Childline service.
‘We’re hopeful that this year’s event will be the biggest ever, cementing all of the good work that’s been done in previous years and that everyone in the classic vehicle community rallies round to make it a huge success.’
The Drive-It Day website features an interactive map showing where official events are happening. You can also buy plaques or donate to help support a worth cause.
NSPCC community fundraising manager and Childline volunteer counsellor, Michele Baxter, told CCW: ‘The classic and heritage car community has been a driving force behind the success of Drive-It Day in aid of Childline raising more than £50k each year thr
