In October, 20 volunteers from Harwin took on the 10 mile challenge through Portsmouth, and completed the 2017 Great South Run. ‘Why would anyone volunteer to run 10 miles?’ you may ask, well there were various reasons, but ultimately there was one goal in mind; to raise money for a great cause.

History of #TeamHarwin

Let’s rewind to 2012 when the original Team Harwin was formed with only 6 members ready and willing to take on the 10 mile course. Since then, every year the team has grown and chosen different charities and organisations to fund raise for including Football for Cancer and Brain Tumour Research.

This year Team Harwin comprised of 20 racers all of varying running and walking abilities and from different areas of the business. For some, it was their first race ever, for others it was just another warm up in between marathons. It’s safe to say there are no criteria for joining Team Harwin.

Chaos at Havant and Cosham

Earlier this year an idea was put forward by one of our runners to fund raise for a local organisation who specialise in caring for adults and young people with learning disabilities. ‘Chaos at Havant and Cosham’ are an independent organisation providing support and social activities tailored for individual needs.

As a company and a team we naturally wanted to show our support for the amazing work that Chaos are doing in our community. So we sat down with the Chaos team and discussed what would be of most benefit to the group. From there we set our first goal of raising £2,000 to go towards purchasing new sensory equipment to help enhance the facilities available to users and to help organise an Achievements Ball in 2018 to celebrate the accomplishments of individuals within the group.

Fundraising

As well as donations from friends and family we had support from our fellow colleagues in baking, decorating and eating some delicious treats in our bake sale (which didn’t last as long as we thought it would!).

As we hit £2,000 a couple of weeks ahead of the race, and with sponsors still to donate we raised the bar to £3,000. The thought of being able to provide more new equipment to the group and make an even bigger difference spurred on our runners in the final weeks of training.

Post-Race

Since crossing the finish line some interesting things have happened. Some new runners can’t stop running, some seasoned runners haven’t run since and 6 new volunteers have signed up for 2018 already!

In December, a few members of Team Harwin visited Chaos in Cosham to present a cheque for £4,000 to the group. We were welcomed by lots of smiles and a round of applause and we can’t wait to see them again in 2018.

We would like to thank everyone for their generous donations and support for team Harwin and Chaos at Havant and Cosham. Watch this space for updates from Harwin and Chaos in 2018…