Our corporate partner Vida, the mortgage lending specialist, broke new ground for World Homeless Day this year by launching a unique ‘Alternative Marathon’ fundraising event on Sunday 10 October, which raised £3,366 to help end homelessness. This incredible total will be match funded by Vida, and could fund a Crisis Christmas for 232 people experiencing homelessness.
Devised by staff member Paul Docherty, the event saw employees at all levels, including Vida’s leadership team, taking part in a variety of activities across Great Britain each themed around the traditional marathon distance of '26.2'.
For example, one brave member of staff completed a 2.6-mile (14,000ft) sky dive, while colleagues in London visited 26 key landmarks in a single day. CEO Anth Mooney also walked a half marathon between Dunstanburgh to Bamburgh castles to mark the day.
Anth commented:
“The Vida Alternative Marathon was inspired by the London Marathon, as arguably the biggest charity fundraising event in the world. We wanted to replicate this in some small way, with a twist that embodies our company values of vision, inclusiveness, dynamism and authenticity. The aim was to bring people together after a tough 18 months, in support of our charity partner Crisis, in a way that is open to everyone regardless of interests, ability or location.
At Vida we believe no-one should be forced into homelessness. I’m very grateful to all my colleagues who are taking part, or supporting, our first Alternative Marathon. I know I speak for everyone at Vida when I say we are delighted to be partnered with Crisis to assist the fantastic work they do to change people’s lives for the better.”
A huge thank you to everyone at Vida for taking part in this innovative event, and for your continued support for our work to end homelessness for good.
If you have been inspired by Vida's efforts and want to explore working together with Crisis, please get in touch at corporatepartnerships@crisis.org.uk