Virgin Unite

On Thursday 22nd July the Sunbury team went to visit the Marjory Kinnon Schoolin our local area, who accommodate children with various disabilities.

We went there to spend the last hour of their school day with them, this last hour slot would normally be their PE lesson. There was a total of 30 kids from the ages of 11-14 years old. The session consisted of two parts and both lasted for 30 minutes. Half of the kids took part in a basketball session instructed and the other half took part in a circuit session with one of our personal trainers, Luke Mathews. Others who supported this great day were: Sarah Staples, Chris Modak, Neil Tannk and Liesel Kruger.

It was such a joy spending time with children from different backgrounds and different abilities but the most amazing thing was that we all shared the same passion for fitness. The kids had a great time and they all participated with great enthusiasm. One of the children came up to us at the end of the sessions and said "That was the best PE session I've ever had".

We've now built a great relationship with the school and hope to conduct one of their PE sessions once a quarter.

We had loads of fun and feel great about giving back to our community.

On Tuesday 20th July, eight members of staff from Virgin Active in Bolton volunteered for 67 minutes in their community as part of an initiative to commemorate the joint birthdays of Richard Branson and Nelson Mandela. Sixty-seven represents the number of years that Mandela has been involved in serving his community.

Virgin Active has recently become a Patron of Bolton Lads & Girls Club and so we decided to spend the 67 minutes helping staff at the Club’s football playing fields at Hackin Lane.

Bolton Lads and Girls club provides a haven for thousands of local children and young people every week, somewhere safe to go where they can meet friends, a place where they are welcomed and valued. The club is open to all regardless of their background or abilities.

Here is a list of the jobs we have done:

Collecting of the wood and rubbish from around the perimeter of the grounds

Pruning the trees at the sides of the pitches

Weeding

Painting the goal posts

Line marking

Meanwhile, brave souls at Virgin Active's Hendon Club took time out to donate blood.

On the 18th July, Virgin Active Bloemfontein celebrated Mandela Day by having a birthday party at Sunflower House, a local hospice that cares for HIV and AIDS orphans. Virgin Active employees lead by receptionist Philip organized for the 24 children at the hospice to receive a gift pack from Virgin Active, along with lunch and cake. The day was filled with wonderful singing, story reading and face painting!

Philip commented “I am here now to use these opportunities created for me by Virgin Active and Virgin Unite to make a difference in the lives of other people.”

On 16th July the Virgin Active KZN regional team lead by Jillian Alleaume donned their ‘I DO’ t-shirts and spent their 67 minutes at the Durban Beach Shelter. The Shelter is home to approximately 200 people from all age ranges, some are too sick to work, while others have no-where else to go.

The Virgin Active team bought potatoes and butternut and busied themselves washing, peeling and cutting to prepare an evening meal for all the residents. The Virgin Active team hoped that spending Mandela day with those at the Shelter will encourage those to preserver much like Mandela himself.

The Virgin Active team from the La Lucia club spent Mandela Day at the Lake Haven Children’s home. They spent their 67 minutes reading and entertaining the children as well as handing out goodies to the 88 kids who ranged from 6-8 years old.