CHALLENGE COMPLETE…
The team and community at Diverse Fitness in Torbay have just completed a fitness challenge to raise funds to support brand-new comfortable foam mattresses and many happier, safer nights of sleep for families in Uganda.
The Sleepwell Challenge was completed in 3 hours and required the team of 12 to bike, ski and row 2299 calories on each machine alongside pushing 2 x 30kg weighted sledges nearly 23km up and down the gym.
Shana Wilson a team member at Diverse Fitness organised the fundraising challenge after seeing the impact The Sleepwell Project is having on families in Uganda.
Shana says “The thought of children and families sleeping on dirty lumps of foam was just awful, it’s something we take for granted and sleep is so important for everyone to be able to function at their best…”
Diverse Fitness team member and local graphic designer Connie Meek created videos, artwork and social media posts linking back to the team’s GoFundMe page Connie says…
"It was an honour to be asked to support the event in the best way that I know how, through design! I was really excited to be involved. The community at Diverse Fitness are always so supportive, it was a great event to be a part of. Not only did the team smash the challenge, but they exceeded their fundraising goal too. It’s great to know that the money is being used to directly assist families who’re supported by The Sleepwell Challenge."
The Sleepwell Project was set up in 2019 by Tommy Hatwell from ThinkPeopleThinkStory.com, an organisation that uses photography as a foundation to deliver life-changing projects in Uganda. ‘Tommy says’ the fantastic support from the team at Diverse Fitness will go a very long way, benefitting 50+ families with not just new mattresses to replace the old dusty chunks of foam they are using but the gift of a safe comfortable rest each night and the energy to tackle days at work and school.
Some of the communities benefiting from the Sleepwell Project live alongside the River Nile, the world’s longest river. The section that runs from the southern end of Lake Victoria in Tanzania through Uganda and into Sudan is 2299 miles long and is known as the White Nile, both for its whitewater rapids and further north as sediment changes the colour. This was the starting point for the challenge targets.
Ross Millar director of Diverse Fitness Torbay says…here at Diverse we’ve done a lot of charity work in the past so when Shana approached me with the idea, I thought it would be great to bring a team together for a fitness challenge whilst supporting a brilliant cause.
The challenge has so far raised £2300 with 100% of the money going directly into the Sleepwell Project 2024. You can continue to support the team GoFundMe by searching - Uganda Sleepwell Challenge.
The Sleepwell Project has already been delivered twice across 2 communities in Uganda and with the 3rd edition set for January 2024 the team are well on their way to supporting half a million safer more comfortable nights of sleep.
If you would like to support a family with a mattress and learn more about the Sleepwell Project visit ThinkPeopleThinkStory.com to see all the photos and films.
