Record-breaking Move for Charity 2021 raises over £100,000 worldwide

In September, our people, clients, supply chain partners and loved ones around the world embarked on our second annual move challenge – Move for Charity – to raise a record-breaking amount of money and awareness for our global mental health charity partners.

We’ve already seen #TeamISG go above and beyond for mental health this year – such an important issue in our industry and beyond, and one we continue to champion at ISG. With the success of our Pause for Mental Health campaign, which highlighted the importance of well-being and encouraged open discussions around mental health, along with some fantastic fundraising events, our people have been doing exceptional work to break the stigma surrounding mental health in support of our goal to drive revolutionary change in our industry.

The latest step on our journey was Move for Charity 2021, which took place from Monday 20 September to Sunday 26 September alongside Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month and challenged people to get active in support of mental health.

As global communities continue to transition out of COVID-19, taking care of our mental health and well-being is more important than ever. Exercise is a vital part of that, and this year’s challenge saw participants tackle a wider spectrum of activity than we’ve ever seen before. With the event extended from five days to seven, our people had even more opportunity to take to the streets, tracks, parks and swimming pools to help us achieve the furthest distance possible.

From football tournaments, table tennis, walks across Madrid and Germany, and scenic Singapore running clubs, all the way to mountain biking, Autumnal sea swimming, horse riding and even deep-sea diving, the global Move for Charity community put in some astonishing effort to come together and get creative with their contributions, raising the bar in terms of what it means to move for charity. Take a look down the page to see what our people got up to in their regions.

The commitment to the cause was unbelievable and we have surpassed our fundraising target, raising over £115,000 so far with over 500 participants clocking up an incredible 62,000km – that’s the equivalent of travelling 1.5 times around the Earth and stands out as our biggest fundraiser to date.

A huge thank you to everyone who donated, supported and took part in Move for Charity 2021, and congratulations to everyone who completed challenges, achieved personal bests and got active for mental health – your hard work and support has helped raise a fantastic amount of money and awareness for our global mental health charity partners, and will have a real impact on people’s lives.

It’s not too late to donate, so why not help us go even further by sharing our Move for Charity fundraising page with your friends, colleagues and family so they can contribute to this worthy cause.

UK – supporting Mental Health UK

Travelling more than 57,000 km, people in the UK wiped away their sweat to raise over £92,000 for Mental Health UK and its online support platform, Clic, which assists those who are suffering from, and living with, mental illness. Our Britishvolt team donned their wetsuits and lycra for a dip in the North Sea and a cycle across Cambois, Northumberland, while down in London our Agility 5-a-side tournament welcomed teams of ISG people, clients and supply chain partners to do battle on the football pitch. Across the UK our people did incredible work, recruiting family, friends and pets to get involved in all manner of activities from Olympic events, to table tennis, yoga and boxing – and we even saw our very own Simon Roberts take home gold in the world’s toughest mountain race.

Iberia – supporting Alusamen

Our people in Iberia travelled over 1,930km to raise an impressive £11,000 for Alusamen. Jesús Díez took to open water, diving depths of up to 40 metres in Santa Pola, Spain, while José Angel Mediavilla walked from Santurce to Bilbao to visit family, sharing photos of landmarks along the way. Borja Gómez del Rey walked, cycled and ran his way to an incredible 317km in just seven days, and the team in Madrid walked the 64km Green Belt route over the course of the week, connecting with each other as they went and even being joined by friends from Alusamen.

Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) – supporting Aktionsbündnis Seelische Gesundheit and Pro Mente Sana

CEE raised £6,000 for Aktionsbündnis Seelische Gesundheit and Pro Mente Sana, travelling 1,490km with everything from stand-up paddling to trampolining, ice hockey and horse riding. Our Frankfurt team walked to the Main river, those in Hamburg climbed 452 steps to famous church, Michel, to enjoy breath-taking views and our people in Berlin put on their hiking boots and jumped on their bikes to tour city sights. People across CEE also got together for virtual sitting-yoga and mobility workouts to show their commitment to the cause.

Singapore – supporting Resilience Collective

In Singapore, we raised £3,197 for Resilience Collective and travelled over 808km. Led by Rosamay Asignor, our people bonded over scenic runs along the Singapore River, across Sentosa Island and into local nature parks, while Hafiz Masduki guided a team of cross-island coastal cyclists. Sarah Lee took a group to deliver food from a local soup kitchen to families in need, while Aimee Delrosario organised a lovely morning trek along the nature trail at MacRitchie Reservoir Park.

Middle East – supporting Dubai Center for Special Needs

In the Middle East we raised over £3,520 for the Dubai Centre for Special Needs, travelling over 435km in the process. Managing director, Steve Ramsden, kicked off the event with a six-km walk on the opening morning, with other activities including badminton at Dubai World Trade Center (DWTC) with Kenneth San Gabriel, cycling at Al Quadra with Saeed Rehman, and a wonderful Kite Beach walk led by Dace Daine.

 

If you have any photos, videos, stories or experiences you’d like to share, please contact moveforcharity@isgltd.com.