Almost 70 members of staff at Cheltenham-based BPE Solicitors took part in a 10-day step challenge in aid of the British Heart Foundation, raising £920 which BPE has doubled to £1,840, for the cardiovascular research charity in the process.
Ellie Forsyth, a Paralegal in the firm’s Employment team, encouraged staff to take over 10,000 steps every day, for 10 days. The competitive nature of BPE staff meant teams were formed with names including Clot Busters, Team Ticker and Pace Steppers, and many people exceeded the target, in fact four people actually doubled the target and each took over 200,000 steps between 1 and 10 April.
Overall, Ben Adams (Solicitor, Corporate) won the challenge taking 228,693 steps in the ten-day period. Altogether, the 70 people taking part took a whopping 7,438,081 steps were taken, all in aid of raising awareness for British Heart Foundation.
In fact, Santos Hau took the challenge even further by taking part in the Manchester Marathon on 10 April and completed the course in 4 hours 16 minutes.
Ellie chose to set this challenge in support of the British Heart Foundation as her fit and healthy 28-year-old brother suffered a cardiac arrest whilst playing football. Fortunately, thanks to the quick actions of those around him who immediately performed CPR and correctly used a Defibrillator, his life was saved.
During the challenge, Ellie, with the help of Trainee Solicitor, Samantha Taylor, taught staff how to perform CPR in the hope that one day, if needed, they may be able to save a life, in the same way her brother’s life was saved.
Commenting on the Step Together Challenge, Ellie said “I’m thrilled by the success of this challenge and to raise so much money for a charity so close to my heart. I want to thank everyone at BPE who took part and donated.”
Ben Lee, Fundraising Manager for the British Heart Foundation said “The British Heart Foundation works tirelessly to educate people on the dangers of heart disease. It’s thanks to the work that volunteers and fundraisers like Ellie do that BHF can continue its work. The £1,840 that Ellie and BPE have raised will go towards lifesaving research; it will help protect the people you love. Your children, parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, and closest friends”.
Managing Partner at BPE, Antonia Shield, added “I’m impressed at the distances we’ve managed to make over the ten days. It’s been fantastic to see Ellie bring the British Heart Foundation, and heart health in general, to the forefront of our minds at BPE”.
If you would like to make a donation, please visit Ellie’s JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/bpe-solicitors-1/
