Staff take on Ultra Iron Man style challenge to raise funds for schools in Kenya

Staff at the investment manager Aspect Capital will be aiming to raise at least £20,000 for the Kenyan-based schools charity African Promise when they take on an Ultra Iron Man style challenge later this month.

The charity was voted for by Aspect staff to be the beneficiary of their annual fundraising day which this year will see two teams of staff compete in relay to cover the most distance across rowing machines, static bikes and treadmills over the course of one working day. Both teams will be aiming to cover a combined distance of more than 1,200km (roughly the distance from London to Vienna).

Aspect Capital has supported African Promise for many years through charitable donations but this is the first time that the charity has been chosen as charity of the year, having been edged out in the vote in 2012 on the only other occasion they have previously been shortlisted.

Dimitri Antonio, a member of the company’s Charity Committee, said: “We had three great charities shortlisted this year and the vote was extremely close. In the end, African Promise came out on top by a margin of just one vote! However, we are all now looking forward to competing to row, cycle or run the furthest, and to raise the most, in aid of this fantastic cause.”

The company will be generously matching every single penny raised by staff on a £-for-£ basis to double the impact of every donation and to create an overall fundraising target of £40,000.

African Promise’s director, Charles Coldman, said: “As a small charity without much in the way of a public profile, it is rare that we are noticed and chosen for partnerships such as this. But the money raised will truly make an enormous difference to our work; £40,000 would fund our school lunch programme for an entire year and help us provide the 2,750 children across our seven partner schools with a daily hot meal. We are very thankful to staff for voting us their charity of the year for 2017, albeit by a solitary vote, and we wish all those who are competing in the challenge the very best of luck!”

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