On Wednesday 13th December Catalyst Inc held a 12 hour Spinathon in aid of Bowel Cancer UK, across their three campuses in Belfast, Derry/Londonderry and Ballymena. Over 100 innovators from more than 30 companies came together for the fundraising effort which took place simultaneously across the three sites. In total over £4,000 was raised and 2,000km covered.
The 12 hour spinathon kicked off at 6am and was streamed live online via Youtube. The goal was to collectively spin 1100km, one kilometre for every person in Northern Ireland diagnosed with Bowel Cancer each year. By lunchtime the target was far exceeded and by the end of the spinathon, 2,000km had been spun and £4,000 raised for Bowel Cancer UK.
Earlier this year Catalyst Inc announced a three year partnership with Bowel Cancer UK and has set a goal to raise £15,000 for the charity, with all funds going to initiatives and programmes in Northern Ireland.
Shauna Collins, Associate Director of HR at Catalyst Inc, said:
“We are delighted to be partnering with Bowel Cancer UK who were nominated and selected by our employees as our corporate charity for the next three years. The Spinathon was a fun way to bring together our wide network of innovators to raise vital funds and awareness of bowel cancer and we are greatly encouraged by the willingness of our early stage start-ups, our corporate sponsors and suppliers, to get involved to raise funds for this great cause. The live streaming of the Spinathon, across the three innovation centres created an incredible atmosphere that generated real comradery and a healthy dose of competition, both of which helped us to smash our targets!”
Speaking ahead of the event, Deborah Alsina MBE, Chief Executive at Bowel Cancer UK:
“Bowel cancer is Northern Ireland’s second biggest cancer killer with 400 people dying from the disease every year. By coming together for this truly special Spinathon and raising money for our vital research and life-saving work, we can give hope to those that are going through treatment and remember loved ones to stop bowel cancer in Northern Ireland.”
Our thanks go to the participating companies who took part in the Spinathon – Atlas Communications, Chubb, Coca Cola, PureGym, FloGas, Allstate Northern Ireland, Automated Intelligence, Barclays, Cafe 1404, Catalyst Inc, CIS Oncology Ltd, Connected Talent, ECIT, ECOM, GlowMetrics, iManage, MPT, NIVHA Lab Services Ltd, Performance Active, Queen’s University Belfast, SQS, SupplyBuy, Wurkhouse.
Caption (Left – Right): Ben Bland (Member of the Catalyst Inc innovation network) and Dick Milliken (Chair, Catalyst Inc). Officially launching the Spinathon on Wednesday
