Velo gets moving for Miles for Smiles!
Did you know the average office worker spends five years of their life sitting at their desk, and the average step count sits between 3,000 to 4,000 per day?
Movement is vital – not only for general happiness, but also for maintaining a work-life balance. This was recognised by the leadership team at Velo in 2021; and as a direct result, ‘Miles for Smiles’ was born.
What is Miles for Smiles?
The premise is simple: walk, run, cycle, and just move as much as you can throughout the month of August, all in aid of charity (and a few work perks!).
Tracking our activity on Strava, we aim to collectively meet milestones (or more accurately – kilometre-stones!) for the distance we covered, with each km raising another £1 for our chosen charities.
Our chosen 2022 charities
This year, the chosen charities were:
We didn’t choose these charities by chance – in fact, they were all specifically curated. We asked our team members to nominate a charity close to their heart, and one they felt represented a cause they were truly passionate about. Operations Manager, Giovanna Ash, said of her nomination ‘Gordon Moody’:
“I chose this charity because it was one close to my heart after seeing first-hand the damage that a gambling addiction can do. Nominating this charity allowed me to shed light on this with my co-workers who may not have known about the work Gordon Moody does to combat gambling addiction”
Another charity selected was Alzheimer’s UK. Account Managers Lottie O’Donoghue and Joanne James took this choice one step further (or should we say a couple of thousand steps!) and, on Saturday 25th September, ran the Wimbledon half marathon in aid of this charity. We’re expected to find out how much they raised soon – so keep an eye on our socials for updates!
Fitness is the business
Whilst the charitable element of Miles for Smiles is of course the main driver behind the initiative, it also had another great outcome: we got moving.
Office workers often struggle with becoming unintentionally sedentary. Most of the day entails sitting at a desk, whilst during our lunch breaks, we tend to eat, and then return straight back to our seats! Sound familiar?!
Miles for Smiles challenges this by encouraging our team to get fresh air during their lunch breaks, take outdoor meetings, and choose to walk over taking public transport when commuting.
Company incentives
As well as getting fitter and raising money for charity, we also had some other incentives driving our movement. For every certain number of kilometres we reached, there would be a prize waiting at the end! The prizes ranged from an early finish to a brand-new coffee machine, and even a team crazy golf trip. Needless to say, with a total accumulation of 1,924KM, we reached every single milestone and won all of the prizes. Bring on the crazy golf…
Year-on-year improvements
As aforementioned, this is the second time we’ve conducted the Miles for Smiles initiative. This time, however, was marked with a difference: we almost doubled the amount we raised. Last year, the total amount landed at just over £1,000. This year, we’re proud to say we have raised a whopping £1,924.67.
Watch our Miles for Smiles 2022 highlights here:
Bring on 2023!
