On 16th May, 15 Invesco staff set off on their survival adventure to Invesco Island, a 36-hour survival challenge on a remote Welsh island, raising £24,885 for their local children’s hospice, Helen & Douglas House.
Invesco choose Helen & Douglas House as their charity of the year for 2018 and have arranged fundraising events throughout the year including a Thames challenge involving a kayak, cycle and run and Invesco Island.
Once famous among smugglers and pirates, this remote Welsh Island is rugged, inhospitable and windswept and home to nothing but seagulls and sheep. The Invesco Perpetual team had to complete a series of challenges which tested their physical, mental and team-work skills on this two-night survival challenge.
They built their own shelter, fire for warmth, designed weapons to fend off creatures and learned how to navigate the rugged terrain of Invesco Island. Ex-royal marine commandos and survival instructors were on hand to show the Invesco team the skills they would need to survive on the island before dark on the first day.
Each participant had a fundraising target of £500 which they exceeded by a long way raising £12,442 in total which was then matched by the Invesco Cares Foundation and Mace Foundation, to help local families with terminally ill children and young adults.
Nicola Wilson from Helen & Douglas House said “I would like to say a huge thank you to the team from Invesco who took part in Invesco Island. All the participants really threw themselves into this challenge. They came away with new skills, friendships, and closer relationships with their work colleagues. We need to raise £5m every year to help local families and cannot do this without amazing corporate partners like Invesco raising money for us.”
Invesco Island participant Kevin Gant said “I took part as I wanted to do something which would take me out of my comfort zone (I admit to having very few practical skills!). This event definitely did that and I learned some very useful skills and found the experience incredibly rewarding and enjoyable. Add to that the money raised for an incredible charity in Helen & Douglas House and it makes it even more worthwhile! I would recommend the Island challenge to anyone.”
Can your team survive being stranded on a remote island?
If your company is interested in their very own bespoke survival Island challenge, which is a great team building activity but also raises money for a local charity, please email Nicola at the charity at nwilson@helenanddouglas.org.uk or call 01865 799150.