Leeds-based Marketing Consultancy, The Marketing Optimist, has raised over £1000 for a local homelessness charity after successfully completing a 24-mile sponsored hike.
Richard Michie and Christopher Fox raised a total of £1063 for Simon on the Streets after taking a part in the Charity’s annual ‘Walk with Simon’ challenge.
Comprising the three main areas in which Simon on the Streets operates, ‘Walk with Simon’ challenges competitors to walk from Huddersfield, through Bradford, to Leeds in just 24 hours.
Despite being allowed 24-hours to complete the route, the pair clocked in at just under 10 hours, hoping that their impressive time would inspire more people to donate to the cause.
Simon on the Streets works with local people who are affected by homelessness and rough sleeping in Leeds, Bradford and Kirklees.
They organised the challenge in a bid to further subsidise the street-support they provide to individuals who have complex needs and cannot access mainstream services, due to behavioral issues or mental illness.
The Marketing Optimist has supported the charity since its founding in 2016, previously raising £760 at the ‘Big Sleepout’ in September 2017, as well as selling raffle tickets at events and making donations at Christmas instead of sending out Christmas cards.
This year, they pledged to raise an annual total of £1000 for the charity, but thanks to a generous sponsorship from Tim Collins of WOW Thank You Ltd, they smashed their fundraising target by 6.3% in just four months.
The company now hopes that the annual total raised will exceed £1500.
Richard Michie, CEO of The Marketing Optimist said: “We knew that we had set our sights high, but that’s just our style.
“We were, however, confident that we could achieve this total across the year, but we never expected to raise such a large amount of money in just 4 months.
“Thanks to Tim, we now have an opportunity to raise even more money to enable Simon on the Streets to continue the support they offer to the homeless.”
Commenting on the generous donation, development manager of Simon on the Streets, Fahad Khan said: “Richard and Chris have been such inspirational supporters of Simon on the Streets. The challenge was tough, and both had to dig deep to get to the end, but they showed real commitment in completing the challenge they had set out to complete, smashing their fundraising target.
“We would like to thank them both for their support and to all those who sponsored Richard and Chris.”
To make a donation or to read about their experience of the challenge, please visit https://www.marketingoptimist.co.uk/blisters-for-charity/.