Horsham employees take on Three Peaks Challenge for charity tackling elderly loneliness

The team from Metricell, based in Foundry Lane, took on the Three Peaks Challenge and raised £1,235 for the Tapestry Day Club (TDC) – a not-for-profit social enterprise in Horsham which was set up to tackle elderly loneliness.

The team was able to climb Ben Nevis and Snowdon, but due to logistics, the team was unable to reach the third peak – Scaffel Pike in the Lake District – during the 24-hour challenge.

Fern Wells from Metricell, who organised the event, said: “I am immensely proud of the team for what we have achieved.

“Not only for the endurance and stamina we undertook during the challenge, but also what we were striving to achieve for our chosen charity.

“We at Metricell take great pride in helping and working alongside our local community and charities, therefore this challenge meant a great deal to us all, and we couldn’t be happier in what we have managed to accomplish.”

The challenge began in Scotland, where they embarked at the foot of Ben Nevis – the highest of the three peaks – at around 7am on Sunday, August 29, and reached the top of the 1,345m mountain between 9.50am and 10.45am.

The popular route, or otherwise known as The Pony Track, is 10.5 miles long and 17km up and down, including 1,352 metres of ascent.

After Ben Nevis, the team tackled the Welsh Snowdon peak at 4am the following day, reaching the top, a height of 1,085m at around 7.10am.

Fern said: “The Metricell team thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience, even some of the more challenging parts of the route such as starting the Snowdon ascent in the dark with little to no sleep, and partly through cloud with very little visibility.

“The entire experience has been nothing but rewarding for the team, and we would like to say a big thank you to everyone who was involved making the challenge possible, including all of the support and donations we have received, we are truly very thankful.”

Anderley Wade, co-founder of Tapestry Day Club, said she was ‘in awe’ of the amazing efforts from the Metricell team.

Their incredible fundraising will go towards supporting more older people from the local communities to enjoy a stimulating and engaging day at one of their day cubs.

TDC offers a different form of day support for older people living with early stage dementia, with guests benefiting from a sociable day including various activities and a delicious home cooked hot lunch in the family homes of their trained hosts.

All hosts are excellent cooks and once DBS vetted, are extensively trained in safeguarding, food and hygiene, emergency first aid, dementia awareness and manual handling.

Transport of its guests is also part of TDC’s service and all of its hosts’ cars are insured for business use and their homes are fully risk assessed.

Metricell has also donated an additional £400 from its summer Metrifest event to the Tapestry Day Club.

For more about Tapestry Day Club, visit www.tapestrydayclub.co.uk