Restart Scheme
In the spirit of Easter and giving, Hannah Monaghan, Employer Engagement Manager, and Daryll Jones, Partnership Coordinator, from the Restart Scheme in Wales, embarked on a spirited mission. Their goal was to raise donations of Easter Eggs for Participants by pedalling their way through a challenging sponsored cycle on St David's Day.
This charitable venture was no walk in the park. Hannah, who suffers from fibromyalgia, found the physical exertion extremely challenging. The event, which was took place at the Vale Resort in Hensol, Vale of Glamorgan, left her in pain throughout the weekend. Daryll too, initially found the cycle easy, but as the hours wore on, the physical toll from the ‘eggs-ercise’ began to set in. Despite the pain and fatigue, the pair pressed on, fuelled by tins of energy drinks, bananas, oranges, boiled eggs and snack bars. They used their Serco volunteering day to complete the cycle, pedalling for 7 hours, covering a total of 110 miles and burning over 2500 calories each.
The idea for the challenge was born out of their desire to help our Participants, after the success of the Christmas Toy Gifting Day in December. Their efforts were met with generous donations from retailers including Iceland, Tesco, and One Stop, who contributed to their cause and helped them collect a total of 160 Easter Eggs, which included an assortment of Cadbury’s, Twix, Maltesers, Celebrations and Crunchie eggs and 96 packets of mini eggs. ‘Eggs-cellent!’
The outcome of this gruelling event was an Easter Event held in the Restart Scheme Cardiff office. Participants were able to take home a few Easter Eggs. Many were moved to tears as they were worried they wouldn't be able to treat their children this year for Easter. Seeing the joy and gratitude on their faces made the pain and exhaustion worthwhile for Hannah and Daryll.
Chelsea Collins from the Cardiff office said:
"We've had a lot of positive feedback from Participants, a few tearful as they were worried they wouldn't be able to treat their children this year for Easter. They also said how kind and lovely it is of the Restart Scheme to arrange something so small but so meaningful.”
Hannah said:
“Seeing Participants leaving the office with a smile on their face was the ultimate reward, making the strenuous 110-mile cycle worthwhile. We have been blown away by the generosity of the retailers we work with and can’t thank them enough for their kind donations. Without them, none of this would be possible.”
