STAFF from DGRI’s Critical Care Unit have raised £810 for charity following a month-long relay race which clocked up 1076 kilometres.
Between October and November, 35 runners took part in the fundraiser in aid of the Captain Tom Foundation to help combat loneliness, support those facing bereavement and champion education and equality.
Staff nurse Carla Young organised the relay after completing a 50km challenge earlier which helped her rediscover her love of running. She said: “It felt good to be doing something that wasn’t about Covid, just breathing and feeling the air on my face.”
Eager to get others involved and do something for a good cause, she successfully recruited some keen colleagues.
Carla said: “Opportunities to do things together as a team out of work, had become so restricted, just like everything else since we found ourselves in the Covid pandemic. Whether on a break at work, or communicating socially out of work, there was little chat among colleagues about anything other than Covid. When I started thinking about how we could do something together but at the same time socially distanced, the baton relay occurred to me as we could each do our part individually, and in our own time, which was good given our varying duties and commitments in and out of work.
“My hope was that it would be good for our overall health and wellbeing and give everyone something to talk and laugh about, a fun shared experience, and at the same time raising money to help others was so important to us, knowing so many were struggling with the effects of the pandemic.”
The team’s target of £750 was achieved, however donations are still being welcomed at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/carla-young2.
