NEWS ROUND-UP
Peak Performance
Next's LP team strives for the summit to raise funds for Children with Cancer UK.
For most workers the morning commute can seem like a race against time and an uphill struggle.
But for the Next Loss Prevention team, getting to their catch-up meeting at 09:30 will literally be a vertical time challenge as they all embark upon climbing the Britain’s Three Peaks in time for their daily call at the summits of the UK’s most iconic mountains.
On the 26th August, the 29-strong team will be up before dawn, with three groups of 10 tackling Ben Nevis, Snowdonia and Scafell Pike in the Lake District to raise thousands of pounds for Children with Cancer UK, a charity that invests money in vital specialist research to help save young lives but also support their families through the difficult process from diagnosis to treatment.
The objective of the charity is a world where every child gets to ring the ‘end of cancer treatment’ bell.
The Next team challenge is to reach the peak and be online ready for their daily departmental video call.
The team, who have all been in training to make sure they are at the peak of their fitness, have another secret weapon in their motivational arsenal – their inspirational colleague Deborah Shepherd, who has been with Next for more than 30 years and was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.
Deborah, who aims to be on that call at the Leicestershire headquarters, is currently undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy and responding well to treatment.
“It’s typical of Deb to nominate a charity like Children with Cancer UK, so that the money benefits others - she’s such a positive and selfless person,” said Laura Turner, Next’s regional LP manager for the Midlands.
“This is the Three Peaks with a twist and the team are up for the challenge for the charity and for Deb who has just got on with her life, which is very inspirational for the guys as they get ready to set off,” she said.
The business has donated £1,000 to the cause to help motivate the team and a Just Giving page has also been set up which has already raised in excess of £8,000 from friends, colleagues and other LP professionals.
Fellow professionals can add to the total and boost the cause by visiting: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/DebShepherd
