Swanton’s 24-Hour Exercise Challenge 2023 has raised a terrific £755 for children’s charity Happy Days, and the donations are still pouring in.
On Wednesday 24th May, at 10am, the first teams kicked off the challenge, and over 24 hours, the services took turns to do their bit.
At Eastcliffe, Service Manager Terry Bayliss and his team dressed up as the 118-118 boys to exercise in the garden and then hit the streets of Seaham to collect donations.
Team Deanston House was put through their paces in the sunshine during a fun-filled Clubbercise class led by Service Manager Celia Peat.
Meanwhile, Tracy Pochec from SCC Sunderland took the graveyard shift and did three early morning exercise activities between 1- 3.30am, sparing others from an early hour workout.
Swanton’s Chief Operating Officer England, Tom Pick, was full of admiration for the efforts made by all the participants.
Tom said: “Our 2023 Exercise-a-thon has been the best yet – everyone has smashed it!
“It’s terrific to see so many colleagues and people we support getting involved and putting so much effort into raising money for our chosen charity, Happy Days.
“Not only is it a great way to get everyone moving, but it creates an amazing team spirit across all our services.
“We’ve donated £500 to the fundraiser to show our appreciation for the efforts of everyone who got involved.”
Across 24 hours, the sporty fundraisers hit the gym to do cardio and weightlifting, headed out in the sunshine on bike rides, joined exercise classes and did their favourite sports.
The time was divided into 30-minute slots, where teams handed over to another service to pick up the challenge.
Swanton screened many of the activities on Teams, so people across Swanton could tune in to see their fellow colleagues and others supported in action.
Chief Executive Officer Andrew Dalton sent a message of congratulations to everyone.
Andrew wrote: “A wonderful turnout from our services, staff and people we support.
“The challenge has been a huge success! A big thank you to each and every one of you for taking part, on and off camera.”
