Staff and leisure members at the Vale Resort in Hensol, south Wales have raised a staggering £18,000 for one of Wales’ leading cancer charities - in just two months.
From climbing mountains, making curries and posing for a ‘tasteful’ calendar, more than 100 leisure club members, staff and the local community worked together to raise the money for Tenovus through organising five events in June and July.
Clive Hamilton, member of the Vale Resort health club and managing director of office solutions company, Pinnacle Group, worked with staff to drive the fundraising effort.
Almost doubling their initial target of £10,000, one fundraising activity saw five teams of up to 10 leisure members and staff take on the three peaks challenge, climbing the three highest peaks in England, Scotland and Wales, over three days in June.
The Vale gym also hosted a five-day non-stop Trixter bike challenge, keeping the wheels of three bikes spinning for 12 hours a day. Staff and leisure members took to the saddle for up to three hours at a time, while the Vale Resort’s head chef, Daniel James, made homemade cakes to sell with Tenovus t-shirts to support the bike momentum.
After feeling the burn on the bikes, personal trainers and leisure members posed for a calendar shoot in the Vale Resort gym. There were 150 July to December 2013 calendars printed and sold at the hotel for £5 each.
The fundraiser campaign culminated in a curry and auction night, held at the Vale Resort and attended by more than 100 guests. Donations from the Football Association of Wales and the Welsh Rugby Union were auctioned at the event, as well as a Cardiff City top, which was the last top worn by Craig Bellamy before their promotion to the premier league.
Joanna Church, sales and fitness manager at the Vale Resort, said: “We are delighted to have raised such a significant amount for Tenvous in such a short space of time, and it shows what can be achieved if you really put your mind to it!
“Tenovus does a fantastic job in providing support and care to patients suffering with cancer, and also fund essential research projects into the disease.
“Without the support from our leisure members we would not have been able to organise the string of events that helped to raise the final sum. It’s great to have members like Clive Hamilton who want to make a difference. He was integral to building the fundraising events and for strengthening our links with Tenovus. Joining up with Clive and the Pinnacle Group enabled us to gain wider support and we are really grateful for the energy and enthusiasm he and his team put into the initiative.
“In tough economic times, to raise £18,000 is a big achievement, and we are very pleased to have donated this to such a worthy cause.”
Bethan Palfrey, challenge events fundraiser at Tenovus, said: “A big well done to everyone involved in raising this huge amount. Not only were some of the challenges they took on really tough, but to raise over £17,000 is no easy feat and to do it in such a short space of time is really incredible!
“Thanks to their support, we can continue to help cancer patients and their families in the local community who need our support.”
The Vale Resort is Wales’ highest rated four-star resort with a 143-bed hotel, boasting Wales’s largest spa, two championship golf courses and a first class health and racquets club including large gymnasium.
Every year Tenovus funds £1million in cancer research in Wales and spends £1.8million on their cancer support services.
Tenovus support over 2000 people every day through services such as welfare and benefits advice, counselling through choirs and the cancer call back service for those newly
diagnosed with cancer.
