On 6 April 2020, Captain Tom Moore set out round his garden to thank our NHS heroes. One hundred laps later, he raised an incredible £38.9 million for the NHS Covid-19 appeal. His simple message of hope – “Tomorrow will be a good day” – inspired millions around the world and brought comfort and joy to so many during the pandemic.
In honour of his great achievements, this year the ‘Captain Tom 100 – Do it your way’ campaign was launched, open to all in order to raise funds for charities nationwide. It simply involves doing 100 of any activity of your choice, either individually or shared as a team. The event took place between Friday 30th April – Monday 3rd May 2021, just after what would have been his 101st birthday.
As Charles Stanley's Charity of the Year, staff took part in various activities across the bank holiday weekend to raise money for us. We would like to extend a huge thank you to all those who took part and supported those doing so.
Take a look at what they got up to!
Rob Morgan - surfing 100 waves
Here's what Rob had to say about his challenge:
"I’m an avid surfer and as well as surfing I enjoy crossover sports such as kitesurfing and stand up paddleboarding in waves. I set myself the challenge of catching and riding 100 waves here in the South West between 30th April and 3rd May.
I didn’t know the sea conditions in advance so the challenge was a strategic one as well as physical as I had to maximise the opportunities given on certain days/times/beaches.
However, to give myself the best chance I’m allowed to use a variety of disciplines – surfboard, stand up paddleboard (SUP) and kitesurf depending on the wave and wind. Also adding to the mix was a bank holiday crowd that meant getting in the water at quiet times – dawn or dusk – was needed in order to catch the most waves.
As it turned out, one day was flat with no waves (Saturday) and one day was too stormy (Monday), so I had to concentrate my efforts on the Friday and Sunday when there were some consistent though very small waves."
Rob's fundraising page: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/RobMorgan14
Ben Money-Coutts - 100 miles of cycling
With the support of a few fellow riders (Callum, Jonathan and Robert), here's how Ben got on:
"It's been a long time since I last rode 100 miles in a day, but what better way to celebrate Captain Tom's 100 and raise money by riding Hampshire's beautiful lanes for Open Palm.
To do the 100 miles I did one 30 mile loop early doors on my own, then one 50 miles with 2 guys and then a 20 miler where I was accompanied for part of it by Jonathan and Rio. I was aiming to do it in 6 hours and came in just under at about 350 mins. I’ve put some stats on the Just Giving site.
Fortunately, the weather held good as did the pacemakers. Good to have been given a target to aim for on behalf of the charity, otherwise I probably would have slouched the day away."
In order to sweeten the fundraising appeal, Ben kindly offered a case of wine to the donor who had the closest guess of his 100-mile collective time. He managed to cross the 100-mile mark in just over 350 minutes with an average speed of 17mph.
Ben's fundraising page: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-display/showROFundraiserPage?userUrl=BenMoneyCoutts&pageUrl=1
The Yippies
The Yippies team was formed of various staff members. Cliadhna Law, Lauren Manning and Tim Venner chose to share 100 kind and positive messages on social media, providing a healthy balance to some of the negativity seen online. Becky Hancock swam 100 laps of the swimming pool and Simon Peal did 100 kettlebell swings, pushups and situps!
"We were asked to do 100 things this bank holiday to raise a bit of money and I chose 100 kettlebell swings, push-ups and sit-ups. In retrospect, I probably should have chosen something slightly easier." - Simon Peal
The Yippies fundraising page: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Team/TheYippies
Simon Coy - 100 Tractor Tyre flips in 100 minutes
Strongman Simon decided to opt for the hurculean task of flipping a very large and super heavy tractor tyre 100 times behind his house! Many of us would struggle to roll it let alone flip it. Check out what was his warm-up session:
Simon's fundraising page: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/SimonCoy1
The Foundation Planning Services Team - Walking 100 miles
The team, along with the support of friends and family, have elected to undertake a series of walking challenges during the year, starting over the Bank holiday.
Mark managed to hike 10 miles:
"I hiked along the River Humber (not in it I hasten to add) and even managed to shout “Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition” a couple of times but unfortunately there was no one about to hear me as you can see from the photos!"
Kara hiked 15 miles and managed to exceed her quota by hiking in the Lake District with children and husband in tow, whilst Rachel dragged her dogs along for a total of 8 miles during the weekend.
Team fundraising page: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-display/showROFundraiserPage?userUrl=Walkalot&isTeam=true
Ralph McBaiden - 100 km cycle from London to Cambridge
As if the long ride wouldn't be hard enough, Ralph chose to perform his challenge on a mountain bike! Check out his video below of how he got on:
Ralph's fundraising page: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Team/TeamSheaButter
Thanks again to everyone for the amazing activities and fundraising efforts. As at 4 May 2021, the total amount raised through Charles Stanley employee's fundraisers was approximately £6,500. These funds will directly help Open Palm's initiatives, including helping 13 - 17 year-olds from underrepresented backgrounds to learn key life skills.