We suggested a team exercise, just us, just as a team thing. We did not have a clue what we were doing, however the team support was great and knowing that so many people wanted to take part was a great motivator, we just needed to go for it. We invited others, expectations were low, but in the end 120 others wanted to join our little expedition.
Now, 5 years later we see over 300 turn up every year. A very important aspect of all the events is the collective, the group, the mass of people coming together to do a great thing together.
To see hundreds of people all working together to achieve the same goal is a very powerful thing. It creates a fantastic bond and emotional connections are very strong with those who take part, and the camaraderie is brilliant. A real social movement. We overhear conversations of support, encouragement and friendships. Amazing people who give up their time and incredible amounts of energy to take part and raise lots of money for local charities.
I talk about how important the coming together of lots of likeminded people is. It’s the sort of ethos and values of the event. We are not solely focussed on raising lots of money; we thrive on the community, the emotional connections and the social movement. The events have now become linked to this completely. When we thought how can we make this as accessible, open, inclusive and social as possible? How can we create that real sense of people joining whichever way they are able to? We knew that we just had to let go a bit and allow the people to be the energy which took it forward.
Social movement is a powerful thing. It’s remarkable to see when it happens. The energy and togetherness that is created by a group of people all coming together to do something amazing is a joy. The changes and improvements we have made have been guided by the people who take part. The energy which is created by those people is passed on to new people, and so on, to the point where most of our new recruits come from word of mouth. So I think back on the journey to where we are, there have been some great memories and interesting twists and turns
Each year we keep coming back for more. There are many reasons for this – the amazing fundraising, the sense of achievement, the challenge. But above all it’s the people who take part and the amazing response we get every year. And long may it continue.
I often think, how can we create this type of social movement within healthcare? There are six things we need to do to create a social movement
- They share a sense of PURPOSE
- They are UNITED
- They share UNDERSTANDING
- People PARTICIPATE
- They take INITIATIVE
- They ACT
