Revolution Relay

To say that there has been a lot going on this year so far would be a complete understatement. In February 2020 we were all made aware that our beautiful bars would be closing for an indefinite period of time meaning our teams would be on an extended period at home.

A couple of months into furlough we were made aware that one of our General Managers – David Berry – in Revolution Leeds Electric Press was setting up a virtual charity relay to help raise money for the companies chosen charity, Shelter UK, and the NHS Charities Together who were going through the toughest period in the history of the NHS. David’s idea was absolutely fantastic and ended up in us raising a HUGE amount for Shelter as well as raising the awareness of the charity and the great work that they do. Keep reading to find out more about the “Revolution Relay” from David himself.

Tell us a little bit about yourself

My name is David Berry. I’m the General Manager of Revolution Leeds Electric Press and I’ve worked for Revolution Bars Group for over 13 years now and I can honestly say that this has been the strangest period in all that time.

David Berry – General Manager – Revolution Leeds Electric Press

Where did your idea start?

We are so lucky to work in a company that makes you feel part of the family from the bottom to the top, we all feel like we are in it together no matter what we face. We spend a huge part of our lives together; early mornings, late nights, good times and tough times, helping provide great food and drinks to our guests. Not having our sites open really affected a lot of my team in that we struggled for a purpose spending each day at home.

To help keep people together and to give people a purpose I came up with the idea to do a virtual relay to raise some money for a great cause. Everyone would get 30 minutes to walk, jog or run as far as they could and we would set ourselves a target to try to achieve.

The idea initially was to cover 100KM over the May bank holiday weekend between about 30-40 of my closest colleagues. Within days we were inundated with people from all over the country wanting to take part and it just exploded from there.

Chris Burton – Software Development Manager – Support Centre

Why did you choose Shelter and NHS Charities Together?

We voted a couple of years ago for Shelter UK to be our partnered charity as we see first-hand the impact of homelessness in our cities all across the UK and we wanted to try and do our bit to alleviate this huge issue.

Shelter helps millions of people every year struggling with bad housing or homelessness through their advice, support and legal services. They campaign to make sure that, one day, no one will have to turn to them for help. They are a fantastic charity that we are proud to work with and we thought that if we could raise even £1,000 it’d have all been worth it. (for more details on Shelter please scroll to the bottom of the blog)

NHS Charities Together was an absolute no brainer for us as we were in the middle of a global pandemic. They are a collective experience representing, supporting and championing the work of the NHS’ official charities and they provide vital funds to help the NHS do more. Every little bit raised can help change the fortune of those in need, which during the COVID-19 outbreak was accentuated more than ever.

Soraiya Gihawi – Sales Manager – de Cuba Bristol

So how big did the event get in the end?

As I mentioned people from across the UK really got behind the idea. So many people offered their support to make the most of the event from across the support centre, and I must thank them for their help in bringing it all together.

Overnight we went from an idea of travelling 100KM to a crazy idea of going from our most Northerly site – Revolution Inverness – to our most Southern site – Revolution Plymouth – visiting a number of our sites along the route. This was a massive 1,032KM and we were going to try and achieve it in just 14 days.

Stephanie Stone – Assistant Manager – Revolution Cardiff

Did you make it?

We absolutely smashed it in just 10 days, I couldn’t quite believe it! We made the decision to turn around and head towards the iconic Nightingale Hospital in the middle on London and over the final 4 days managed to make it all the way with a couple of hours to spare.

Hit us with the figures David

Days – 14

Distance travelled – 1,646KM

Number of participants – 349 employees (plus family/friends)

Money raised for Shelter UK – £10,750

Furthest distance travelled in 30minutes – Nick Gilling, Revolution Huddersfield – 7.5KM and Rakesh Vaja, Support Centre – 7.2KM

Best fancy dress – Chris Burton dressed as Forest Gump in 30 degree heat

Best action shot – Stephanie Stone (Revolution Cardiff) and Gintare Trakimaite (de Cuba Reading)

Rakesh Vaja – Management Accountant – Support Centre

Sum up the event for us if you can

It’s really difficult to put into words how proud I am of the Revolution family getting behind this event. I genuinely thought that we would get a few people involved, help keep people engaged, help people stay active and maybe raise a bit money for Shelter… I never thought that people would get behind it in the way they did.

I just want to thank everyone for being as passionate about it as I was and an even bigger thank you to everyone who donated to such a great cause. Even though lockdown meant that we couldn’t be together in our sites, we felt closer than ever before. I’ll never forget this and I hope that the money raised will help support people in real need.

Amy Buckley – Revolution Marketing Manager – Support Centre

RBG summary

We would just like to take a moment to recognise the initiative and creativity of David Berry and I am sure you will all join us in raising a glass in his direction for such a great idea. It’s also important to thank everyone who got involved and donated, as well as a big thank you to Brooklyn Beer who supplied our runners with after run refreshments as well as some great prizes at the end of the event.

If you are currently in need of housing advice or are finding yourselves in a difficult financial position that is affecting your housing situation, please do reach out to Shelter UK on 0808 8004444 or visit their website to chat online here https://england.shelter.org.uk/get_help/webchat

If you’d like to read more about NHS Charities Together and the work that they do to support our incredible NHS please click here https://www.nhscharitiestogether.co.uk/

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