Committed colleagues have embarked on an “immense” charity challenge and plan to collectively row one million metres. The team at family-run Basetek Limited got underway last Monday (17th April) and hope to complete the distance in four weeks – in the process raising thousands of pounds for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH).
They have two Concept2 indoor rowing machines and are targeting 25,000m per machine, per working day. It should take around two and half hours of rowing on each machine – both of which will be based at the company’s head office in Lytham Road, Ipswich.
Managing Director Jamie Ashfield, who founded the company in 2000, will be at the forefront and started using rowing machines during the Covid lockdown. He found it a challenging low-impact workout and wants to encourage others of different fitness levels to give it a try.
Jamie kicked off the challenge and plans to take part every day. Upon completion, he has pledged to make a generous £10,000 donation to EACH.
“We have around 32 employees who are very excited to take part,” said the fitness fanatic, who also enjoys cycling, climbing, skiing and snowshoeing.
“I love pushing myself and see this as a great opportunity to encourage others to do the same. We have staff members who have never used a rowing machine or visited a gym to others who exercise daily and compete in fitness competitions.
“It’s going to be an immense challenge but we’re looking forward to having some friendly competition and building our team morale.”
Employees will be donating their free time to take part, before and after work and during lunch breaks. Basetek’s IT department has created a programme to clock the team’s distance and provide a countdown number to keep them motivated.
They will also be encouraging some healthy competition for employees keen to compete on a leader board.
“Safety will be at the forefront and we’ll be offering inductions to staff on how to use the equipment,” added Jamie.
“It’s going to be tough but we believe we can achieve this distance as a team, especially as it’s for such an amazing charity. It’ll be lovely participating in a challenge like this and knowing the proceeds are going to children who really need it.”
The team were keen to raise funds for EACH, which supports families and cares for children and young people with life-threatening conditions across Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Essex and Norfolk. Jamie regularly attends local business conferences and has met various members of the EACH team.
“I wanted to know more about the organisation and its role in the local community, so myself and my wife spent an afternoon at The Treehouse understanding and appreciating the work EACH does,” he said.
“The charity rowing event is a direct result of those meetings and we hope this will be just one of a number of fundraising events we can host.”
Basetek predominantly supplies mechanical and engineering equipment to oil and gas, mining, marine and defence companies across the world. To sponsor the team, head here.
