Santander employees from the South-East and Midlands came together in Milton Keynes to compete in a charity remake of the classic TV game show ‘It’s a Knockout’. The event saw a total of almost 200 employees in 24 teams take part in eight different obstacle courses, presenting both physical and mental challenges.
The challenges included a human pinball wizard, dinghy derby and a minefield dare. These were all taken on while some of the teams were wearing fancy dress costumes and made even more difficult by them having to battle against foam, water and other obstacles to raise money for Alzheimer’s Society.
In addition to the physical and sporting contests, the competition also included a cognitive challenge to highlight the potential everyday challenges faced by those living with dementia. This special round saw participants blindfolded and guided around obstacles designed to help colleagues understand the importance of trusting and supporting each other.
Each team entered the tournament with the aim of raising £1,000 to help transform the lives of people living with dementia across the UK and fund vital research. Another ‘It’s a Knockout’ event was hosted in Liverpool last week, with a further 100 employees in eight teams looking to take the total ‘It’s a Knockout’ event fundraising to over £60,000 including Santander matched donations.
Louise Shield, Director of Corporate Communications at Santander, said: “’It’s a Knockout’ has been a big feature of our fundraising programme and something we look forward to enormously. The chance to recreate the classic game show is not only great fun, but it also demonstrates our commitment and determination to support those in our communities who are most in need.”
Kathryn Young, Head of Account Management at Alzheimer’s Society, said: “We’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who took part in the ‘It’s a Knockout’ events. It’s inspiring to see so many Santander employees join together to fundraise for Alzheimer’s Society at events like these. The incredible support will help Alzheimer’s Society continue to fund research as well as improving and providing care and support for people with dementia across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.”
So far, this year’s Santander fundraising events for the charity have included branch events, an employee football tournament and Dementia Action Week activity. Over the course of the rest of 2019, Santander will be supporting various other fundraising activities for the charity including sponsoring Alzheimer’s Society’s Memory Walk in September.
Santander chose Alzheimer’s Society as its national Charity Partner for 2019-2021, following a selection process which included a vote by thousands of Santander staff across the UK. The focus of the partnership is on working together to improve financial inclusion and help those within our communities who may struggle to cope with new technology, as well as employee fundraising activities and volunteering. The bank and charity are combining their respective areas of expertise, to establish joint strategic initiatives that will improve the quality of life of people affected by dementia. Santander’s aim is to become the best digital dementia friendly bank in the UK.
