In response to the tragic events unfolding in Ukraine, three members of Altrincham-based gym The Strength Collective are teaming up to raise money to benefit the UNICEF relief effort.
At 5 pm on Friday the 8th of April, Liam Kennerk, Dana Huggins and Danny Needham will hop on their erg bikes and intend to keep riding for a whole 24 hours.
Liam says, “As the fighting in the Ukraine intensifies, so does the dire humanitarian situation and needs on the ground.
We couldn’t just stand around and watch what’s happening, we all wanted to do something to help the situation. And because UNICEF is doing such vital work, we wanted to sign up for their fundraising.
As personal trainers with thousands of hours of coaching, we thought what better way is there to raise money than doing what we do best.
We have all been told many times how crazy we are when it comes to workouts, so we were all keen to be challenged with something new and decided a 24-hour bike erg would be a great initiative to raise money for an amazing cause”.
UNICEF is the world’s leading organisation working for children in danger and has been working around the clock to keep children safe in Ukraine since this conflict began eight years ago.
Dana Huggins, Director at The Strength Collective, explained that an “ergometer” (“erg” for short) is a type of stationary exercise bicycle equipped with an ergometer instrument that measures the amount of work done by the individual peddling the bike.
It is used to track fitness in a meaningful way, so you can compare your performances from one day to another.
She says “My legs will get tired and hurt, getting to even a couple of hours is a feat of mental toughness, but the motivation is to assist the children of Ukraine. Please donate what you can, all donations are welcome!”.
The Strength Collective have launched a Just Giving fundraiser and hope they will exceed their £1,000 target.
Dana says, “There are not enough words to describe the positive impact that UNICEF has in children’s lives. So we want to raise as much money as we can, so they can continue providing vital aid, helping ensure that child health and protection services are sustained and families have clean water and nutritious food”.
You can support their effort on Friday, April 8th to raise funds by donating at:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/liam-kennerk1
Danny says, “Thank you everyone for supporting us. For Danny, Dana and myself it’s the perfect opportunity to raise money to help as well as meeting a personal physical challenge. We can’t wait to see you there to cheer us on and provide encouragement”.