The challenge involves cycling from Great Ormond Street Hospital to the source of the River Thames and then kayaking back to central London. The whole trip, more than 250 miles, consists of 100 miles cycling for one day and then 150 miles kayaking for the next four. With the challenge not only being physically demanding but mentally demanding, Yeomans will have a fellow team member, recruitment consultant and best friend, Paul Bennie.
By teaming up with Romex, the mobile application service provider, supporters of the team will be able to follow Yeomans and Bennie’s progress via the live tracking website that Romex has set up to cover the event. Using Teamfix software their progress will be reported whether kayaking or cycling.
Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity was chosen as the nominated charity for the company because of the inspirational story of Amy Shepherd, the daughter of one of the team at Premier Mobile. She was diagnosed with terminal cancer at the age of two but thanks to the pioneering work of the team at the hospital, her life was saved and she is now fit and well, approaching her fifth birthday.
The challenge is just one part of the fundraising activities that Premier Mobile has planned. A Corporate Golf Day has already taken place and Yeomans and a number of members of staff ran the Hinckley half-marathon in May. On 22 October, an exclusive Charity Ball will take place at the Landmark Hotel in London. To date, over £10,000 has been raised.
Yeomans said: “All the team at Premier Mobile are delighted to be getting involved and raising funds for this fantastic cause. We were all inspired by Amy’s story and were keen to do what we could to help. The Thames Challenge is just one part of our fundraising activities. I’m really looking forward to it but I know it’s going to be very tough, both physically and mentally. Hopefully as we’ve been training for some time, we’re prepared for the conditions.
“The main aim is for us to raise awareness of the charity and of course raise as much money as we can, hopefully getting as many suppliers and members of staff at Premier Mobile involved. It’s not only about this Challenge; we’ve a host of other activities going on, in particular our Charity Ball in October.”
Senior fundraising executive at Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity, Lindsey Burke, said: “It’s fantastic that Premier Mobile has pledged to raise £100,000 for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity and we can’t thank them enough for all their efforts. At the hospital we need over £50 million every year from external fundraisers so we can continue our life saving work. Having companies like Premier Mobile involved makes a world of difference to us.”