A LEISURE centre has raised more than £400 for a charity which helps those struggling with their mental health.
Hoyland Leisure Centre holds charity events each year and usually holds one for breast cancer awareness, but this month staff decided to fundraise for the Samaritans charity.
The event was organised by fitness supervisor Vickie Rae who decided to organise the event when one of a gym instructors handed out some leaflets about Samaritans and how people can get in touch with the charity for support on mental health.
Staff set up two spinning bikes and a rowing machine and several staff members alternated on the machines in reception all day on April 6.
During the day, gym users donated funds and the leisure centre raised £412, which Vickie said was a ‘great achievement’.
“We’ve never raised this much in one day before when we’ve held charity events,” said Vickie.
“I lost a close friend through suicide and another staff member lost someone a few weeks ago to it as well. It seemed fitting for us to do something. We dressed up in colourful outfits as the theme was multicoloured wear and started at about 8am and finished at around 6pm.
“It started off as a bit sombre because we were remembering people we lost but was a great day but I’m still aching after being on that bike.”
For more information on Hoyland Leisure Centre, search for the centre on Facebook.
