“We love challenging ourselves as a team, we do something every year to keep up our competitiveness between us and this year we decided to do a row-a-thon. James, our Fitness Instructor and Jo, our Personal Trainer, were the masterminds behind everything. They had done a row-a-thon a few years ago and thought it was about time to bring it back. It’s funny but the more we suffer the more we enjoy, so it’s a great challenge for us!
“Originally, we just had it open for staff from the leisure centre and the hotel, we then opened it up to our members and were surprised how many signed up, over 15 of them in total. A few friends and family wanted to get involved too as it was only 15 minutes so our spaces were filling up quickly.
“We spoke to Jane, (Head of Sales & Events at The Grand Hotel Gosforth), she thought what we were doing was a great idea and decided to link in with St Oswald’s. It was her idea to hold a bake sale and put buckets around so people could donate all day through the challenge and beforehand.
“We’re supporting a great cause, we get to really challenge ourselves whilst doing an act of kindness. Sometimes you get into a robotic system of work, this way we get to do something we love, bond together and become a stronger unit. No one had to take part, but everyone was willing to do it. I’m so proud of my team, it’s incredible to plan something like this and they have done it amazingly.”