A Kirkby Lonsdale volunteer has helped over 500 disadvantaged young people to complete the Prudential PruGOals programme.

Andrew Bernard has been working with PruGOals and Prudential charity partner Transformation Trust to provide 500 youngsters with mindset training ahead of the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 46-mile race ride that took place last weekend.

The 51-year-old also completed the ride alongside event ambassador Dame Kelly Holmes.

Bernie is part of the PruGOals programme, which is working with 500 youngsters aged 16-18 to build their confidence and encourage personal motivation.

He said: “We’re supporting and working with the young people to give them some mindset training and get them thinking positively, and to help them push through the difficult challenges that they’ve encountered.

“To work with 500 young people has been an absolute privilege. It’s been quite a challenge, because they’ve had lots of difficult circumstances, they come from some different backgrounds.

“They’ve not always got on that well with the cycling – some people couldn’t even ride a bike before they started.

“For the last twelve years I’ve worked with about 150,000 young people on projects like this and my own business projects.

“At the start they were all quite disaffected, quite tough to engage, and to see them come this far cycled past all of them – those young people were smiling, determined and pushing on through the horrible weather.”

Prudential’s PruGOals programme is run in partnership with charity partners Greenhouse Sports, Transformation Trust, Centrepoint, Dame Kelly Holmes Trust and Teach First.

The role of the partnership is to empower young people to realise their ambitions and fulfil their potential regardless of social or economic background.

Despite torrential rain and freezing conditions, the Lake District based volunteer crossed the line at the Mall knowing he had helped transform the lives of many young people.

“There was a couple of tough moments. I didn’t feel myself well enough, so it was up until Wimbledon Hill before I got a bit of nutrition, I started to cramp a little bit

“I think that’s added another element of toughness, so to actually see them coming here with massive smiles on their faces.

“It makes me feel amazingly proud to be part of this project, it’s a wonderful programme.”

PruGOals is an initiative set up by Prudential to empower young people to drive their ambitions and fulfil their potential regardless of social or economic background. For more information, visit prugoals.co.uk