THE Scottish Widows Parish Walk Charity Challenge award for 2010 has been given to a three-woman team from a Huddersfield-based financial services company.
The SimplyBiz team - Are We There Yet? – consisting of Kelita Crocker, Lisa Worthington and Rachel Stobbs, was accompanied by Scottish Widows account manager Tim Elgar. The foursome walked a total of 152 miles in under 24 hours, raising more than £1,700 for Macmillan Cancer Support, in memory of SimplyBiz managing director Ian Thorneycroft who recently died of colon cancer.
None of the team had entered the walk before yet managed to average 40 miles each. Team member Lisa Worthington said: ‘Ian’s chosen charity was Macmillan so the Scottish Widows Parish Walk had a special meaning for us. He was an inspirational boss and very popular.’
The award was presented at the SimplyBiz offices at Galpharm Stadium, Huddersfield by Juan Clarke of Scottish Widows in the Isle of Man.
He said, “This was the first year we teamed up with Money Marketing to launch the Scottish Widows Parish Walk Charity Challenge to find the financial services team that could generate the most funds for charity. The target was £1,500, so as newcomers to the Parish Walk the SimplyBiz team did fantastically well to beat that figure by more than £200.
‘The Parish Walk has been sponsored by CMI in the Isle of Man for 20 years and will continue to be supported by the company, now under the Scottish Widows brand. The Parish Walk is the Island’s largest community sporting event; this year it attracted a record 1705 entries.
“Over the years its popularity has grown across the Island, the UK and further afield as it has proved to be a powerful fund raising, team-building and personal development tool. Kelita, Lisa, Rachel and Tim are to be congratulated on a magnificent team effort and I hope the experience has proved one they will all want to repeat next year.”
The 2011 Scottish Widows Parish Walk will start on Saturday June 25 at 8am. Online entries open at midnight on Wednesday December 1st, 2010. Visit www.parishwalk.com.
