Over 50 employees from wood-based panel manufacturer Egger UK have raised money for Sport in Mind, Mind Tyneside and Northumberland and Minds Over Matter in Ayrshire by doing 30 minutes of exercise every day in January.
RED January is a nationwide initiative for mental wellbeing. The Better Health at Work committee for Egger’s UK production plants in Hexham and Barony organised a team and have raised £5,100. Egger’s charity committee sponsored each participant £100 to take part, provided the 31-day challenge was completed. As a result, £2,550 will be donated to Sport in Mind; £1,275 to Mind Tyneside and Northumberland; and £1,275 to Minds Over Matter in Ayrshire.
Jo Howarth, HR administrator and Better Health at Work co-ordinator at Egger, said: "We are absolutely delighted to have raised over £5,000 as part of the RED January initiative. Over the last 31 days, our employees have battled their way through snow, ice, and rain to ensure they could complete the challenge. Activities were monitored using Strava, and our employees were encouraging and celebrating each other's achievements throughout the month."
Activities ranged from lunchtime walks, treks, long and short distance running, pilates, yoga, power lifting, football, weight lilting, HIT, dog walks, golf, hiking, spinning, daily horse, sheep, and cow feeding, and cycling. It was an international effort, with exercise taking place in multiple countries, including England, Scotland, Germany, Denmark, and Thailand.
Following the success of RED January, Egger says it will be supporting Cancer Research’s challenge to walk 56 miles in February and will donate £56 to the charity for each employee reaching that goal.
