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Staff at Ainscough Crane Hire have been taking part in a 40,000km race across the world on behalf of their chosen charities, Lighthouse Club, and the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
Lighthouse Club provides emotional, physical and financial wellbeing support to present and former construction workers and their families. The Make-a-Wish Foundation grants children with critical and terminal illnesses the ability to fulfil a lifelong wish.
At present, 85 members of the Ainscough team have come together on fitness app Strava to check their progress. Through all forms of exercise including running, walking, cycling and even rowing, the team have amassed 8,000km, equivalent to the distance between their Wigan headquarters to Bangladesh.
The initiative comes following the company founding its charity forum earlier in the year, to home in on the contribution it can make to the causes important to its staff.
Jason Fury, Crane Operator at Ainscough’s Brentwood depot, said: “I think it’s a fantastic initiative. It’s great to see the whole company working towards a common goal and contributing to such a fantastic cause. Lighthouse plays such a crucial role in our industry, and I’ve always been an advocate of mental health support, so it’s great to show our support in this way.
“The enthusiasm is infectious – seeing your colleagues pop up on Strava is really inspiring. I’ve been uploading ‘vlogs’ to my account as a marker of our progress, and it’s nice to see friends and colleagues interacting.”
“At times, being an operator isn’t the most physically demanding job – so when I saw the message about this drive, I thought “great!”. I was at a critical point with my weight, and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to do something about that whilst doing some good in the world. It’s rubbed off on my wife and son – who now do the park runs with me every Sunday.”
“This charity drive has really kickstarted something in me, and I’ve got a marathon planned for January!”
Kelly Armstrong, Procurement and Purchasing Manager at Ainscough, said: “Giving our all is key to everything we do here at Ainscough. Whether it’s our clients or our charity drives, you can always guarantee we’ll be putting 100% effort in. That is why we decided on such an ambitious project – we wanted to pool our collective strength and put it to good use. The Lighthouse Club is an initiative close to many of our teams’ hearts, and I know that it will mean a lot to give back to those in our industry.”
“A large part of what makes Ainscough market-leading in our offering is our dedication to community and our race across the world has really brought everyone together under one goal. We’ve got everyone pulling together as one, including – in Jason’s case – his kids! It really outlines Ainscough’s willingness to go that extra mile for a special cause, and I’m excited to get to the finishing line!”
To contribute to the cause, you can find Ainscough’s Just Giving page here:
