Rugeley-based IT firm raises over £2,000 for children’s hospital in overnight trek
On Friday, 16 August, the Techcare team embarked on a 26.2 mile walk across Cannock Chase in aid of Birmingham Children’s Hospital. The team made the walk more challenging for themselves, by starting the walk on the Friday evening and finishing in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Named the Moonlight Marathon, this is the second year the IT firm organised this overnight fundraising challenge. However, to mix it up, this year the team was split into two teams, racing against each other to the finish line. With one team going clockwise and the other anticlockwise on the circular route, the teams crossed halfway and then met again at the finish line, which was the Techcare office.
Team B, which included Techcare’s Managing Director Oliver Aleksejuk, crossed the line first, in nine hours and 15 minutes, with Team A five minutes behind. Unfortunately, Team B was two team members down, who couldn’t finish the marathon distance due to injury.
Last year’s Moonlight Marathon raised just over £1,000 for South Staffordshire Network for Mental Health, and the original target was to get the same amount again. This target was smashed a few hours before the walk commenced and reached £2,232 just a few days after the walk finished.
Techcare’s Managing Director, Oliver Aleksejuk, said: “Last year’s walk was a huge success, and we’d hoped to raise the same amount this year, but we’ve managed to double our target which is amazing. It’s all for such a good cause, and it’s so rewarding to know our efforts are going towards a brand-new entrance to the hospital.”
Birmingham Children’s Hospital launched a £3m appeal, It Starts Here, earlier this summer. They are transforming the front entrance to the hospital to reduce the fear and anxiety of patients, after feedback showed that families found the entrance stressful and unwelcoming.
Find out more about the appeal: bch.org.uk/listing/category/it-starts-here
By Emily Keeling - Contributor
