Creatif Raises Over £3,000 for Brake, the Road Safety Charity

In September 2018, Creatif announced a year-long partnership with Brake, the road safety charity following a vote by our internal team.

Brake is a road safety charity working with communities and organisations across the UK to stop the tragedy of road deaths and injuries, make streets and communities safer for everyone, and support people bereaved and seriously injured on roads - something the team at Creatif are in full support of.

And what a year it has been, raising over £3,000 for this fantastic cause. This achievement is something the Creatif are very proud of and has only been possible thanks to the full buy-in and support of our fantastic team.

Here's a look back at some key fund-raising events our motley crew has done over the past twelve months...

Abseiling the Manchester Velodrome

To start our year-long fundraising partnership with Brake, a trio of Creatif employees (Liam Bowes, Timi Odeyemi and Steve Sawyer) headed across the Pennines to the home of British cycling, the National Cycling Centre in Manchester.

There, the group scaled the building, made their way across the roof of the Velodrome and abseiled back down to Earth.

We’re pleased to report that everybody made it up and, importantly, back down safely. There were a few hair-raising moments, but, all-in-all, once the initial fear of looking down 100-plus feet to the floor below had passed, everyone thoroughly enjoyed it.

“It was a frightening but exhilarating experience,” Timi, Creatif’s London-based Project Consultant, said of the abseil.

“Once you get over the edge and get used to everything, you really get into the whole experience and begin to actually enjoy it!”

Hitting the streets for the ASICS London 10k

On a warm, arguably verging on hot Sunday morning in July, thousands of people gathered in Central London to take on the ASICS London 10K.

In the middle – quite literally! – of the pack, was Chris Boothroyd, our Marketing Executive, who took part to raise funds for our nominated charity partner, Brake.

The route wound through the capital, starting off near St. James’s Palace and taking in Trafalgar Square and Westminster Abbey before the sprint finish along Whitehall. And yes, Chris did manage to put in a sprint for the cameras.

So, how about the time..?

“I finished in 59 minutes, 49 seconds, which is great as I was hoping to dip under the hour! That sprint finish definitely helped me achieve that and it wasn’t just for the cameras, trust me,” he said.

“It was ridiculously hot - for me at least - so being able to beat that hour mark on my first real 10K event is a great achievement. Looking at the results, I finished right in the middle of the pack too - not bad for a first attempt!

“If there’s another one, I’ll be aiming for 55 minutes and you never know, with further practice I might give Mo Farrah a run for his money.”

But it wasn’t just Chris who laced up his trainers and took to the streets for Brake. No, an entire team was out in force.

Consisting of people from up and down the country, the group has so far raised a staggering £5,970 from this event alone.

“I’d like to say it was a great solo effort,” Chris adds, “but with a team from Brake it just highlights how many people are impacted by road traffic accidents.

“Brake do fantastic work and it’s great to see so many out in support of the charity.”

Chris even managed to bag himself a finishers medal! A job well done!

Taking On the Fastest Zip Line in the World... Twice

Velocity 2 - situated over Penrhyn Quarry in north Wales - is officially the fastest zip line in the world, where those brave enough to tackle it can reach speeds of up to 120mph, all while whizzing across what was previously the world’s largest slate quarry.

In April Creatif team members Steve Sawyer, Matthew Spencley and Kirsty Ripo recently learned what it would feel like to fly when they tackled the Velocity 2.

Fast-forward to September, and two more Creatif team members in Stuart Davison and Louise Kirkham (who required absolutely no convincing, whatsoever!) also rose to the challenge, raising further funds for Brake in the process.

As those who’ve experienced it before can attest, it’s not for the faint of heart, so a huge well done to all members of the five teams who participated.

A Huge Thanks...

...To all the Creatif team members that have run, flown, baked, sold, abseiled and everything else to help raise money for this amazing cause - and of course, to those of you who have been kind enough to part with your hard-earned cash in order to donate!

If you'd like to contribute further, please speak to Ben or Chris, or go directly to Brake.