STAFF at a Derbyshire company are joining forces with colleagues across the UK to take on an Olympic-sized challenge to swim, run and race almost 6,000 miles – the distance between the UK and Japan.
Staff at Lubrizol’s Hazelwood headquarters will combine efforts with colleagues from other sites across the UK to raise a minimum of £25,000 for the mental health charity MIND.
The challenge will run until November and over the coming months staff have pledged to cover an incredible 5,800 miles – which would take them to Japan, where the Olympics are scheduled to be held.
In April, 30 colleagues are planning to walk a mile every lunchtime for the month, while 15 staff will commit to the Couch to 5k fitness programme.
Lubrizol worker Charlotte Hyman is part of the Olympic-sized challenge.
Ten people have pledged to use pedal power to clock up 100 miles each on an exercise bike, while another group intend to pound the pavements running a marathon each over the course of June.
In August, three people will pull together to row the distance of the English Channel – 21 miles – on rowing machines and five others will attempt to swim one mile every week.
In the autumn, if Covid restrictions allow, a group of five intend to climb Snowdon, five aim to reach the summit of Ben Nevis while a further 10 climbers plan to tackle the Yorkshire Peaks – with each climb completed in the dark.
And in November, if international travel restrictions have been lifted, five people aim to walk 44 miles across the Jordan city of Petra, while another five hope to collectively clock up 300 miles trekking across the Sahara Desert.
Teams of five colleagues from the Hazelwood site are also hoping to compete in a relay race against teams from the company’s other sites in Manchester, Huddersfield and Barnsley.
Staff at Lubrizol are committed fundraisers and last month presented a cheque to the British Heart Foundation for an impressive £18,896 after two years of activities.
Lubrizol has chosen to raise money for Mind as the firm has a long commitment to supporting staff with mental health to ensure that the pressures of life and work do not adversely affect their performance and happiness.
As part of this work, last year 18 members of staff qualified as mental health first aiders, which means the company has one mental health first aider for every 20 employees.
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Tom Grazier, from Lubrizol’s Charities and Community Committee, said: “This isn’t the first time we have worked directly with staff at Lubrizol’s other sites to raise money for a specific cause, but this is by far the biggest challenge we have all taken on together.
“A lot of people who work at Hazelwood are extremely athletic, but I think lockdown has helped everyone to understand just how important it is to look after our mental health too, which is why we decided to raise money for Mind.”
ENDS
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