Little Heath School Fundraising for Plas Dol Y Moch

24 Hour Cycle Challenge

Inspiration is the spark that awakens us to the possibility of achieving awesome things', so says the Head teacher of Finham Primary in Coventry.

Last week he and two of Finham teachers showed exactly what that meant to them when they undertook a 24 hour cycle challenge in aid of Plas Dol y Moch Coventry's Outdoor Education Centre. The trio took a bike which had been made by Finham primary pupils under the guidance of Kevin from John Atkins cycles and cycled it non stop for 24 hours.

The challenge was to see how far they could cycle in the time. Two hours on/Four hours off sounded a reasonable game plan but the distances being covered and the heights being gained meant this was a relentless and sometimes even brutal challenge to observe as a member of the support team.

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Going the extra mile

Pete Fahy

Director of Adult Services

Coventry City Council

Isn’t it a good feeling when you are part of a team that works collectively to support a good cause and achieve a goal?

This is my reflection following a weekend where colleagues from Adult Social Care rallied together to complete a 24 hour treadmill challenge to raise funds for Plas Dol-y-Moch.

For the uninitiated the Friends of Dol-y-Moch are attempting to raise £250k to fund improvement works at the centre. This is a huge target and earlier this year the call went out to encourage fundraising efforts.  

Rising to the challenge, and considering the sporty lot they are, the team agreed to set about collectively keeping a treadmill in constant motion for a period of 24 hours between 4pm on Friday and 4pm on Saturday, in full public view, in the reception of the AT7 Centre in Bell Green.  

It was a truly special bit of team work that made me proud of the people I have working for me.  Everyone that said they were going to contribute turned up and did their bit, and even more impressively everyone was there early and stayed beyond their time slot to give support to colleagues.  

Others made multiple visits to the centre to see how the challenge was progressing and, even during the graveyard hours, there was good spirited banter with colleagues sharing a laugh in a way you would never see in a work environment.  It was never intended as a team building exercise but it turned out to be the most effective piece of team building I have ever been involved with.

So, what lessons on team work might be gained from this experience?  Such lessons might include the establishment of clear overall success criteria (24 hours constant motion), understanding of individual contribution to this (a set time on the treadmill), complete trust that everyone was going to do their bit, support for others in making their individual contribution, and importantly, a sense of humour and a positive attitude.

Ok, I’ll concede that keeping a treadmill in motion for 24 hours is more defined with far fewer variables than ‘running’ Adult Social Care but the teamwork shown over the weekend has given me renewed enthusiasm that we can meet the challenges in front of us.

Not forgetting the fundraising element the challenge has so far topped £1,000 including gift aid.  The fundraising page is still open and it would be great to see this amount climb further, so if anyone is feeling generous and wish to donate please visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/PDM-TreadmillChallenge.

Holyfast Primary School Sponsered Walks

We would like to say a huge congratulations and many thanks to Holyfast Primary School for raising this money!

Happy 50th birthday to Dol-y-Moch!

Education centre reaches landmark anniversary.

Celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the outdoor education centre Plas Dol-y-Moch have begun.

The centre in Snowdonia National Park has hosted thousands of the city’s schoolchildren over decades after it was bought by Coventry council in 1966.

To mark the anniversary, Lord Mayor Coun Michael Hammon was joined by former athlete David Moorcroft at the Canal Basin.

School pupil Farouke Kigonya and Dol-y-Moch veteran Jan Brown joined them as they took to the waters in a canoe.

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