Member Article

Ain't no mountain high enough!

Staff at intu Metrocentre and intu Eldon Square have been breaking in their walking boots and focusing on fitness in preparation for a charity trek up Ben Nevis this spring.

On Saturday 20 May a team of nine from each centre will be embarking on the 16km trek up the tallest mountain in the British Isles, standing at 1344m above sea level, to raise invaluable funds for their charities of the year.

The hardy explorers from intu Eldon Square, led by general manager Phil Steele, and intu Metrocentre, led by general manager Gavin Prior, will be scaling new heights to raise money for Hadrian School and St Oswald’s Hospice.

Hadrian School, in Benwell, caters for the needs of pupils aged between two and eleven years with a range of additional needs including complex, severe learning difficulties and profound and multiple learning difficulties while St Oswald’s Hospice is dedicated to improving the quality of life for everyone in the north east living with an incurable condition, as well as their families.

The trek should take approximately 8 hours – though this is dependent on weather conditions and fitness levels. Even in May the summit is still likely to be covered in snow and with Ben Nevis being battered by an average of 261 gales per year, the teams are not expecting a easy climb.

With friendly competition heating up between the two centres, their general managers were keen to hit the climbing walls at Eldon Leisure to test their skills and endurance.

Gavin Prior, general manager of intu Metrocentre said:

“This was a great opportunity to weigh up Phil’s fitness levels and see if the team at intu Metrocentre need to crank up their training – though from what I’ve seen today I don’t think we have to worry too much!”

“We’re prepared for the blisters and aching muscles and we’re hoping that our generous shoppers will dig deep and help us reach our target of £1,500.”

Phil Steele, general manager of intu Eldon Square added: “I’m glad to see that Gavin is training hard for the trek… he’ll certainly need it! After weeks of running, cycling and swimming the team at intu Eldon Square are raring to go!”

Siobhan Sargeant Corporate Fundraiser at St Oswald’s Hospice, said:

“Everyone at St Oswald’s is so grateful to the team at intu for choosing us as their joint Charity of the Year. We’ve so many exciting initiatives planned for 2017 and the Ben Nevis trek sounds like the perfect challenge to put the team through their paces.

“Funds raised by intu and their customers will help us continue to provide specialist hospice care to local adults, young people and children, throughout the north east. Every penny brings us closer to our fundraising target and we simply couldn’t keep our doors open without the support of companies such as intu.”

David Palmer, Business Manager at Hadrian School, commented:

“It’s really humbling that intu staff are doing so much to support our school, and climbing Ben Nevis is the tip of the iceberg! intu have already raised over £8000 since September and we can’t believe that the money is continuing to come in!

“Our children are benefiting so much from the ongoing support - we have already purchased an excellent Sensory Bed for one of our Year 4 classes who have a population of profoundly disabled children who are really benefiting from this specialised piece of equipment. We are also going to be using monies raised to fund a new wheelchair adapted minibus. Good luck to all the staff and make sure you plant an intu flag at the top!”

The centres aim to raise £1,500 each - to make a donation, head to the JustGiving website and search ‘intu Metrocentre Ben Nevis Trek’ or ‘intu Eldon Square Ben Nevis Trek’.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Suhaine Baptie .