Vianet Set Out to "Smash the Stigma" on their Yorkshire Three Peaks Hopewalk 2021

As part of Vianet’s aim to ‘Give Something Back’, we are taking part in various fundraising activities for our chosen charity, PAPYRUS including our recent Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge.

PAPYRUS is a young person suicide prevention charity which exist to reduce the number of young people who take their own lives by shattering the stigma around suicide and equipping young people and their communities with the skills to recognise and respond to suicidal behaviour.

A team of Vianet employees have put themselves to the test by taking on the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge as our HOPEWALK for 2021.  By taking on the Three Peaks Challenge we aimed to smash the stigma and get conversation around suicide awareness started. Our challenge took place on Saturday 4th September 2021, just ahead of World Suicide Prevention Day on the 10th September.

Our team consisted of 12 employees from across our organisation. Our volunteers tackled the peaks of Pen-Y-Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough, a total of 24 miles and 1585m of ascent in under 12 hours.

In preparation, our volunteers began training for the challenge a few months ago, taking on both local beauty spots, as well as the Yorkshire peaks themselves. Our target was to raise £5,000 through our Just Giving page but the team absolutely smashed the target raising a massive £7,366. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank anyone who has sponsored the team and contributed to a fantastic cause – your donations kept us going!

Commercial Co-Ordinator, Jo Welsh suffered some nasty blisters, but amazingly powered through the final peak and distance with the loan of some trainers, spare socks and the help of her teammates, arriving at the finish line with a smile – a true warrior! Commercial Director, Mark Parry also suffered a knee injury 4 miles from the finish line, needing the loan of Neil Burtons hiking poles to get him through the last leg of Ingleborough. All in all, we are incredibly proud of the strength, courage, and team spirit of our employees at Vianet.

Special thanks to our amazing support team of 5 on the day, who met the team at check in points offering sandwiches and food to refuel as well as cups of tea, first aid and moral support.

The challenge was a tough one but all 12 of our team passed the finish line ahead of the 12-hour timescale – an incredible effort and deserving of a pint at our finish point, the Golden Lion pub! The whole team had a great sense of camaraderie and great banter to keep each other going through the day.

Vianet employee, Nicola Arnell also took on a fundraiser of her own for PAPYRUS on the same weekend, with the challenge of climbing Roseberry Topping with her daughter and raising another £120 to add to the pot. Their was also a Bake Sale to refuel in the Vianet office on 7th September, the organisers, bakers and consumers raised an additional £200+ for the charity.

To find out more about our chosen charity, please visit PAPYRUS website here.