Member Article

£1,000 windfall for North East Pop-Up Gym

A former Gosforth Harriers runner left disabled after a swimming accident has seen his mobile gym project received a £1,000 boost from Persimmon Homes.

Drew Graham (31) broke his neck in 2014 having had an accident in the United States and became quadriplegic. He has since returned to Gosforth for rehabilitation and is now looking to get his ‘Pop-Up Gym’ initiative off the ground.

If successful it would see a mobile gym give people in the north of England an opportunity to use equipment to aid spinal cord injuries.

Mr Graham applied the funding via Persimmon Homes’ Community Champions initiative. It is a national programme where charities and groups can apply for funding up to the value of £1,000 to match cash they have already raised themselves.

He said: “When I returned to Gosforth I was disappointed by the lack of facilities for spinal injury rehabilitation. I decided to set up a gym for other people affected by spinal injury where we have specialised equipment to aid recovery.

“We’ve held a number of fundraising events in the UK and US and more recently held a running event at Newcastle Great Park.

“The aim is to raise £50,000 and so far we have £13,000 so Persimmon Homes’ donation puts us a step closer to our goal.”

Debbie Zaben, sales and marketing director for Persimmon Homes North East, said: “Drew is overcoming adversity to contribute positively to the community and it is something we wholeheartedly support.

“The Pop-UpGym sound a fantastic idea and we wish Drew and all the fundraisers the best of luck as they aim to raise £50,000.

“As always it was a difficult decision to select our Community Champions, but I would encourage any charity or organisation that missed out this time to apply again.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Lee Southen .