Fundraising Projects
June 29, 2011
Wearset has always taken a keen interest in charity. One charity especially close to Wearset’s heart is the North East Promenaders Against Cancer (NEPAC), which raises money for cancer research teams at the Royal Victoria Infirmary and patient support groups in the Northeast. David Staward, former company director and founder of Wearset, passed away from leukemia in 2008. Following diagnois of the illness, David became a firm supporter of NEPAC, and Wearset has raised money for the charity ever since. Each year NEPAC organise numerous events to raise money for the charity; one annual event that always proves to be popular with supporters is the North East Last Night of the Proms, which features local and national singers and has been running for a whopping 21 years.
Recently, three Wearset staff members have taken it upon themselves to conduct their very own fundraising project for their chosen charities. Phillippa Nichol, Senior Project Manager at Wearset, took part in a 5 km Swimathon in April, raising much-needed funds for Marie Curie Cancer Care. Despite the pool being open to the public at the time of the event, Phillippa managed to complete the swim in a respectable 2 hours 10 minutes. Unfortunately Phillippa acquired a long-term foot injury earlier this year which meant she was unable to carry out her usual fitness activities for the foreseeable future: ‘I entered the Swimathon on a whim before realising it was only eight weeks away, but I needed a challenge to keep me motivated and fit.’ Phillippa explains that the Swimathon was by far the farthest that she’s ever swam and it’s a great accomplishment to have completed it.
Our Head of Project Management, Claire Toal, is yet to complete her charity event, which will be taking place on 10 July. Claire is running the Race for Life in Newcastle, one of many Race for Life events taking place across the country to help raise money for Cancer Research. As the day draws closer, I asked Claire what motivated her to enter the Race for Life: ‘I’m always keen to raise funds for charity and have been thinking about doing the Race for Life for a couple of years – the operative word here being “thinking”, not “doing”!’ Well, Claire has finally taken the plunge and is looking forward to running the race with some of her best friends. Claire and her friends have already exceeded their original target for donations and they know that this will spur them on during the day. Good luck!
Finally, the third staff member to carry out a fundraising event is me. I took part in the Race for Life held in Sunderland on 21 May. I’d never done much running previously and fancied a challenge that would keep me fit while raising money for a good cause. A close family member suffered from cancer recently and it was this that made me put aside my dislike for running and enter. I completed the 10 km race in a very reasonable 54 minutes and thoroughly enjoyed the day overall. Thanks to the Race for Life, I managed to raise £155 for Cancer Research and have a new-found love for running!
If you wish to sponsor Claire for her upcoming fundraising event, please follow this link.
