The team from SSEN's Portsmouth contact centre get ready to take on the Three Peaks Challenge
Employees from Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks' (SSEN) Customer Contact Centre in Portsmouth are seeking to raise £10,000 in 2019 for their chosen charity, Rowans Hospice, a local hospice in Hampshire.
Fifteen colleagues from the Portsmouth contact centre took part in the Three Peaks Challenge, which tasks hikers with climbing the three tallest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales; Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon, in under 24 hours. The combined ascent of all three mountains is 9,800 feet and requires driving 469 miles between each mountain to complete the challenge in the allotted time.
The challenge was all part of the Contact Centre's Charity Mission; to raise £10,000 for Rowans Hospice in 2019. The team made use of SSEN's 'Be the Difference programme', a business-wide initiative to encourage employees to take a day away from their usual job and volunteer to help local charities and community projects of their choice. During this challenge, the team used 30 'Be the Difference Days' and made used of matched funding offered by SSEN to raise over £2,500.
Speaking about the challenge, Liz Elkins, Service Advisor in the contact centre said: "Having been seen the end of life care offered at Rowans Hospice for my dad, I was keen to do my part in raising money for such an amazing charity. Very few of us on the challenge had previous experience of intense hiking and climbing like this."
"The Three Peaks Challenge is one of the hardest things I've ever done, both physically and mentally, and if it wasn't for the support from each other, I think we'd all have really struggled."
Troy Fisher, organiser and Digital Strategy Manager at SSEN said: "The enthusiasm shown to raise money for Rowans Hospice has been fantastic, and I am confident we can exceed our £10k target. I am immensely proud of everyone for taking part, and grateful for all the support, fundraising and wishes we received from our friends, family, and SSEN colleagues."
SSEN employees have a range of activity planned to reach the £10k goal, including marathons and skydives. To find out more about Rowans Hospice and the Silver Jubilee Appeal they've launched, click here.